PREP BASKETBALL: Bentonville rolls over Greenwood girls

BENTONVILLE -- Bentonville took control in the second quarter and never let up in a 79-67 victory against Greenwood on Tuesday in nonconference girls basketball in Tiger Arena. The Lady Tigers (5-2) avenged a loss to Greenwood earlier this season as four players scored in double figures. The Lady Tigers will close the nonconference portion of their schedule on the road Saturday at Cabot before opening 6A-West Conference play Tuesday against Springdale Har-Ber. Greenwood (7-3) overcame a 5-0 deficit with an 11-0 run capped by a layup from Haven Clements with 2:22 left in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs grabbed a 15-13 lead at the end of the quarter. After the Lady Tigers tied the score at 15-15 on two free throws by Maryam Dauda, Bentonville started clicking offensively. Dauda scored on a 2-on-1 break, and Nadia Akbar scored twice to give Bentonville a 34-21 lead. The Lady Tigers were never seriously threatened again. "I think we settled down and started taking care of the basketball," Bentonville Coach Tom Halbmaier said. "I think we just passed the ball so much better this game than the last time we played against them. We were not trying to force so much." Dauda, the 6-6 senior who has signed with Baylor, wasn't much of a scoring factor in the first half as Greenwood focused its attention on slowing her down. That left Akbar free to roam the baseline, and she picked up the scoring slack. Akbar led the Lady Tigers with 23 points. Her steal and length-of-the-court layup to start the third quarter gave Bentonville a 14-point lead at 38-24. "This game right here sort of fit her style of play," Halbmaier said. "So we were very pleased with her ability to execute and be able to capitalize off of that. It just shows a lot of character in our kids. They see she's having a good game, she's hitting shots and our kids are being unselfish trying to find her in transition. And she was the beneficiary of our guards taking really good care of the basketball, and she just capitalized off of it." Bentonville twice led by as many as 16 points, the last time at 50-34 on a three-pointer from Gracie Eaves, who finished with 11 points. Greenwood cut the gap to 62-54 on a inside bucket from Mady Cartwright, who drove the lane and flipped the ball over her head while drawing a foul. Her free throw completed the three-point play with 5:42 left in the game. She finished with 13 points before fouling out. Bentonville had an answer as Akbar scored inside and Dauda, who scored 18 points, nailed a pair of free throws to extend the Lady Tigers' lead back to double figures. Kinley Fisher led Greenwood with 22 points. Jada Brown scored 14 for Bentonville. "This is the second time we've played Bentonville, and we've already played Northside, North Little Rock, Conway, Cabot," Greenwood Coach Clay Reeves said. "So this is another good road game that will help us out for conference starting next week."

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PREP BASKETBALL: BENTONVILLE ROLLS OVER GREENWOOD GIRLS

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nwaonline.com | 12/30/2020