SPRINGDALE -- The top scorer in the 7A-West Conference finished with one point less than the opposing team Friday.
It was that kind of night for Marquesha Davis, who scored 23 points to lead Springdale High to a 35-24 victory over Van Buren at the Bulldogs gym. Springdale (13-4, 4-0) remained undefeated in league play while handing Van Buren (11-5, 3-1) its first league loss.
Springdale High 35, Van Buren 24
Van Buren^4^7^7^6^—^24
Springdale^12^6^9^8^—^35
Van Buren (11-5, 3-1): Kinney 6, Sandoval 6, Evans 6, Ryan 3, Myers 3.
Springdale (13-4, 4-0): Davis 23, Gause 8, Minchew 3, Sysavahn 1.
Davis started fast with eight points in the first quarter and she had 14 of Springdale's 18 points at halftime. She opened the second half with a 3-pointer and followed with a three-point play minutes later to put Springdale ahead 24-16.
Van Buren got to within 27-22 before Davis made a basket while falling down to delight the home crowd and leave Van Buren coach Chris Bryant shaking his head. Davis' points total included three 3-pointers and 2 of 3 made free throws.
"I was very proud of Marquesha and very proud of our team," Springdale High coach Heather Hunsucker said. "We moved the ball around and took some quality shots."
Jeniya Gause made two baskets in the first quarter to aid Davis, who began the night averaging 28.7 points in conference play. Davis added a big block while piling up points to for the Lady Bulldogs, who led 27-18 after three quarters.
Springdale played superb team defense and held senior guard Jamilyn Kinney to six points, which is 10 less than her average. Three players finished with six points and two had three points for Van Buren. Gause added eight for the Lady Bulldogs.
"I like the way our team defended tonight and, really, defended without fouling," Hunsucker said.
Bentonville High 56, Rogers High 22
After a tough loss earlier this week to Fayetteville, Bentonville's win over Rogers on Friday night was just what his team needed, Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said.
The Lady Tigers (13-4, 2-2) kept the Mountaineers scoreless in the first quarter, while Avery Hughes opened up the scoring for Bentonville, chipping in the first seven points of the game, on her way to a team-high 18 points. The junior went six-of-14 from floor and four-of-six from the free-throw line to pace the offense.
Maryam Dauda chipped in 11 for the Lady Tigers. Amber Covington led Rogers (9-9, 2-2) with nine.
Fayetteville 49, Springdale Har-Ber 32
The Lady Bulldogs raced to a 9-0 lead and were never threatened in earning their fourth straight blowout win in conference play.
Fayetteville (12-3, 4-0 7A-West) got 11 points from sophomore forward Sasha Goforth in the first half. Goforth finished with a game-high 18. Her 3-pointer from the left corner gave Fayetteville a 16-5 lead with 50 seconds left in the first half.
Har-Ber did not score more than 9 points in any quarter and shot just 26 percent from the floor.
Jasmine Franklin scored 11 points and blocked 5 shots. Coriah Beck scored 13 for Fayetteville. Savannah Collins led Har-Ber (8-10, 0-4) with 10 points.
Fayetteville will host Springdale High on Tuesday in a matchup of conference leaders.
Bentonville West 49, Rogers Heritage 41
West scored the first eight points and withstood Heritage's second-half comeback attempt to pick up its first conference win in a game where 57 fouls were called.
The Lady Wolverines (8-8, 1-3) had a 32-16 lead after Kelsey Wood's bucket with 5:21 left in the third quarter before Heritage (5-11, 0-4) made it interesting. The Lady War Eagles pulled within 39-36 on Danielle Dickerson's bucket midway through the fourth quarter, but West score eight of the next 10 points to pull away.
Imani Montgomery had 10 points to lead West, followed by Ashaundi Henry with nine. Brooke Menke led Heritage with 14.
Preps Basketball on 01/20/2018