Gentry uses 4th-quarter run to put away Bentonville West

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS GENTRY 46, BENTONVILLE WEST 39

CENTERTON — Gentry’s girls used a big fourth quarter to earn a 46-39 road win against Bentonville West on Thursday night at Wolverine Arena.

The Lady Pioneers ( 21) trailed 32-31 entering the fourth quarter, but Emma Tevebaugh’s free throws with 4:43 left snapped a 33-33 tie and gave Gentry the lead for good.

Savannah Range l ’ s three-pointer with 3:11 left pulled West within 40-37, but Gentry responded with six straight points to take control.

Gentry Coach Toby Tevebaugh said West did a good job of creating some confusion at times. But his group made plays at key times.

“They do a good job of trying to keep us confused and kind of never let us get comfortable,” Tevebaugh said. “It just kind of took us a while to just kind of play. Once I stopped trying to call too much and said, ‘Girls make good decisions. Take good shots.’

“I think that helped them settle in. It was very sloppy, but we played good when we had to.”

Gentry outscored West 15-7 in the fourth quarter.

“We talked before the game that this bunch has kind of had a knack for winning close games,” Tevebaugh said. “So far in their careers this team usually makes plays like that.”

Gentry returns all of its top seven players from a year ago.

“Everybody that played tonight, played last year,” Tevebaugh said. “They know how to handle me. We’ve got a really good relationship and sometimes it can look a little off over there. We’re either overly goofy or overly angry but we’ve got a good relationship.”

Savanna Rangel led Bentonville West ( 2-2) with a game-high 17 points, including four three-pointers. Ivorionna Johnson was also in double figures with 11.

Alyssa McCarty led a balanced Gentry attack with 15, while Shelby Still and Kaitlyn Caswell chipped in nine each.

Bentonville West Coach Dion Hargrove said both teams played hard and dealt with some fatigue.

“Neither team shot it very well and I thought both teams played really defense,” Hargrove said. “I felt like we ran out of gas a little bit. I felt like they ran out of gas a little bit kind of different times in the second half. … They got a nice club. They play really hard. We’re just going to have to regroup.”

Gentry opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run for a 13-11 lead on Kaitlyn Caswell’s layup. But the Wolverines responded with a 7-0 spurt. Johnson hit back- to- back layups for an 18-13 lead. Still’s three-pointer, Gentry’s only one of the half, set the halftime margin.

Bentonville West won’t play again for 12 days when it travels to Van Buren, while Gentry plays Tuesday at Lincoln.