FAYETTEVILLE -- The Bentonville girls limited Fayetteville to one field goal in the third quarter to turn an eight-point deficit into a seven-point lead, but the Lady Tigers still needed free throws from Jada Brown in the final 30 seconds to claim a 55-53 6A-West Conference road victory Friday in Bulldog Arena.
Brown hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final 29.6 seconds to help Bentonville (14-1, 3-0 6A-West) hold on for the win.
Lady Tigers Coach Tom Halbmaier said his team played better in the final two quarters after a slow start. Maryam Dauda poured in a game-high 28 points, while Brown chipped in with 13 for the Lady Tigers.
"I thought overall, the second half was totally different from the first half," Halbmaier said. "Our guards were trying to force some things in the first half; second half we slowed down and got some shots.
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"Maryam played really well in the first half, kept us close. We just hit shots in the second half and made plays. We were very fortunate Fayetteville missed some shots, and we got some stops."
Dauda, a 6-4 junior, gave Bentonville a 46-37 advantage in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but Fayetteville (12-4, 3-1) pulled within 50-47 with 1:48 left on Coriah Beck's fast-break layup after a turnover.
But Brown hit one of two free throws with 5.7 seconds left for a 55-51 lead, making Sasha Goforth's runner at the buzzer of little consequence.
Halbmaier wasn't surprised Fayetteville made a late charge despite scoring just two points in the third quarter.
"They are a very experienced team, and when you have a team like that they find ways to keep it close and give them a chance at the end," he said. "Jada hitting that one free throw with five seconds left was huge."
Goforth, an Oregon State signee, led Fayetteville with 17 points, while Beck and Caroline Lyles added 12 apiece.
Fayetteville Coach Vic Rimmer said the third quarter in which Bentonville outscored the Lady Bulldogs 17-2 was the difference.
"The third quarter was horrendous for us on both ends," Rimmer said. "We did not execute on the offensive end. We took very poor shots. We turned the basketball over. The first half, I thought we had a little more energy, and then at the end of the fourth quarter, we kinda picked things back up.
"A desperate team plays hard, and that's kinda what we did, I thought."
Fayetteville scored eight of the last 10 points of the first half to grab a 35-27 lead. The Lady Bulldogs got balanced scoring in the first half with Lyles leading the way with 10, Goforth with 9 and Beck with 8.
Dauda was Bentonville's only player in double figures in the first half with 17.
Sports on 01/18/2020