NEOSHO, Mo. - It didn’t matter if Jordan Martin was being guarded or not, she was determined to drive to the basket time and time again.
Bentonville’s junior guard made the most of those opportunities by scoring a gamehigh 24 points and leading Bentonville’s girls to a 70-47 victory over Carthage, Mo., at the Neosho Middle School.
The teams are in different divisions during the Neosho Holiday Classic, but they played each other as a third game since they were given fi rst-round byes.
“It was a good win for our kids, coming back from the holiday swing of things,” Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. “I was pleased with that eft ort.
“There are still some things we have to work on and get better - breaking the press and taking care of the basketball in the press. That’s uncharacterstic of us, making some bonehead mistakes. But as far as the eftort and the intensity, I’m pleased.”
Bentonville (6-2) scored the seven points and already owned a 29-14 lead before Martin scored her first two points. She then scored five in the final two minutes of the first half to cap a 12-0 Bentonville run as the Lady Tigers owned a 36-14 cushion.
Bentonville returns to action at 3:30 p.m. today with a Gold Division game against East Newton, Mo.
SPRINGDALE HIGH 58, WEBB CITY, MO. 49
Springdale coach Heather Hunsucker wondered how her team would react in its first full game without sophomore point guard Kierra Lang, who is likely to miss theentire Neosho Holiday Classic because of a knee injury.
There were enough Lady Red’Dogs (3-3) to pick up the slack. Desiree Mack and JaVonda Daniels each had 12 points, and Springdale had enough cushion to withstand a furious Webb City comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.
“The last five days, we’ve been able to work as a unit to get better,” Hunsucker said. “I was interested to see how they would respond to that, and they responded well.
“We asked them to share the load. We need a team, not heroes. I thought they shared the load. They shared in scoring, rebounding and passed it around. I was really pleased with that.”
Springdale heads back to action at noon today against McDonald County, Mo., a 38-37 winner over Pierce City, Mo., to open Thursday’s play.
Sports, Pages 7 on 12/27/2013