Fayetteville surges past Rogers in 2nd

6A-WEST GIRLS

FAYETTEVILLE 58, ROGERS 39

FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville needed one dominant quarter to wipe out an early lead by Rogers.

Fayetteville went on a 13-1 surge in the second quarter and defeated Rogers 58-39 Thursday in the 6A-West Conference Tournament at Bulldog Arena. Fayetteville advances to tonight’s championship game against Bentonville, which defeated Springdale Har-Ber in a second semifinal game on Thursday.

Bentonville and Fayetteville split during the regular season when Bentonville won by six points at home and Fayetteville won by four points at Bulldog Arena.

Rogers’ 16-14 lead after one quarter evaporated quickly in the second quarter Thursday when Fayetteville increased the defensive pressure that led to turnovers and baskets for the Lady Bulldogs The surge was led by Ariana Saitta, who rebounded and harassed Rogers into mistakes on defense and contributed three baskets on offense during a 13-1 run.

“I thought our defense was the highlight of the night,” Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. “Ari, she’s got a great motor and she’s relentless on the offensive glass. An opposing team tries to block her out but she just gets around them. I love the fact she’s putting the ball in the basket because she doesn’t usually look to score much.”

Saitta finished with 12 points for Fayetteville (16-6), which was led by Caroline Lyles with 18 points. Wynter Beck and Claudia Bridges added 10 points each.

Camiran Brockhoff scored 14 points for Rogers (17-10), which beat Rogers Heritage 43-39 on Wednesday in tournament action.

Fayetteville’s offensive balance was on display at the outset when five players scored in the first quarter. But Rogers held the lead with Brockhoff doing most of the scoring. Fayetteville took over in the second quarter when Rogers’ only field goal came on a bank shot Abby Harris with two seconds left before halftime.

Fayetteville increased its lead to 43-30 when Beck grabbed a rebound and drove the lane for a layup to end the third quarter.