ANDERSON, Mo. — The Carl Junction Bulldogs scored the first 10 points of the game and never looked back during their commanding 69-40 win Wednesday night against Bentonville West (Arkansas) in the championship game of the 2022 Lady Mustang Classic.
It’s definitely a sign of a great start for one team and a horrible start for the other when the team losing has more timeouts called than points scored.
At the 3-minute, 47-second mark of the first quarter, Carl Junction already led Bentonville West 15-2 and Bentonville West coach Dion Hargrove already burned three timeouts.
“We came out ready to go,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “This entire tournament, we’ve played well and we’re playing together as a team and good things are happening.”
By halftime, Bentonville West used four of the five allotted timeouts.
Carl Junction’s five starters combined for 64 points Wednesday — all five of them scored at least seven points, three scored in double figures, and a fourth starter just missed double digits by a single point.
Sharing the basketball and spreading the wealth was Carl Junction’s offense on Wednesday.
“We talked about that in the locker room,” Shorter said. “Trying to increase our assist numbers. We had seven assists in that first quarter alone, and that was a lot of the reason for our great scoring. … I thought our defense was excellent, just smothering them and not giving them open looks. Our kids are starting to understand how to match up, we’re communicating, and having fun, and that’s what it’s all about.”
All-tournament selection Kylie Scott finished with a game-high 19 points, Dezi Williams added 18, all-tournament selection Destiny Buerge had 11 and senior guards Hali Shorter and Klohe Burk combined for 16 points with nine and seven, respectively. DeShaye Buerge hit a 3-point basket late in the third for her only points, and freshman Jadyn Howard closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws.
Carl Junction outscored Bentonville West 45-14 in the first and third quarters, and the Bulldogs turned a 36-24 halftime score into a 59-31 lead entering the fourth thanks to a 23-7 third-quarter advantage.
The Bulldogs closed out the third with 11 unanswered points in 2:08.
“We talk about the first five minutes to start the game and then in the third quarter,” Coach Shorter said. “Big quarters for us. They beat us 17-14 in the second quarter. We took that and said that we need to do a better job when we come out. We needed to finish this game. This is a good win for us, because Bentonville West is a great team. They’re so well-coached and always so good. Our kids stepped up to the challenge and I’m proud of them.”
All-tournament selection Savannah Rangel led Bentonville West with 17 points and fellow all-tournament selection Maysa Willis added nine for the Wolverines (7-6 overall).
The Bulldogs ran their early season record to 8-1 overall and they seem to be tournament-tested already this season after three consecutive tournaments to start their season — first at their own home tournament and the Lady Mustang Classic, then second at the Tournament of Champions in Fort Smith (Arkansas).
“We’re playing seven games in nine days,” Coach Shorter said. “We’ve got one Friday. It will be a tough one too against Strafford, who’s won multiple state championships. We want to battle test them, and I think we’ve done that. Our kids are starting to reap the rewards from it, so it’s a good start for us.”
Springdale, who Carl Junction has defeated twice this season (68-44 on Tuesday and 62-58 in the CJ Classic semifinals), earned third place with a 59-47 win Wednesday over Fort Smith Southside.
Farmington 38, Webb City 35
Webb City finished 1-2 and sixth place overall in the Lady Mustang Classic.
Kate Brownfield scored 11 points to lead the Cardinals, while Mia Robbins had seven and Kim Martin added six. Skylar Sweeney led Farmington with 11, Jade Roth scored seven, and Madison Mills and Shelby Bowling each put in six points for the Knights.
Webb City, 4-4 on the season, returns to action Monday at home against Pittsburg (Kansas).
Gentry 49, McDonald County 33
Tournament host McDonald County failed to come away from their home tournament with a win and finished eighth.
Carlee Cooper led the Mustangs with 10 points, freshman Carlie Martin added seven, and Roslynn Huston had five. Martin was an all-tournament selection.
Alyssa McCarty scored a game-high 16 points and Emma Tevebaugh generated 11 more points for the Pioneers.
McDonald County, 3-6 overall, does not play again until a new year when it hosts Carl Junction on Jan. 2, 2023.
Lady Mustang Classic
Seventh place: Gentry 49, McDonald County 33
Fifth place: Farmington 38, Webb City 35
Third place: Springdale 59, Southside 47
Title game: Carl Junction 69, Bentonville West 40
Lady Mustang Classic All-Tournament Team
Destiny Buerge, Carl Junction
Kylie Scott, Carl Junction
Maysa Willis, Bentonville West
Savannah Rangel, Bentonville West
Kaiya McCoy, Springdale
Sophia Neihouse, Southside
Skylar Sweeney, Farmington
Kate Brownfield, Webb City
Alyssa McCarty, Gentry
Carlie Martin, McDonald County
