Youngsters thrust Fayetteville to win

6A-WEST GIRLS FAYETTEVILLE 58, ROGERS HERITAGE 51

FAYETTEVILE — Fayetteville enjoyed a successful Senior Night with plenty of help from its underclassman.

Senior Wynter Beck scored 14 points to lead a balanced attack as Fayetteville defeated Rogers Heritage 58-51 Tuesday in 6A-West Conference action at Bulldog Arena. Sophomore Whitney Brown followed with 13 points and junior Jayla Johnson 10 for Fayetteville (15-13, 8-7), which moved past Heritage (18-10, 7-8) in the league standings with one game remaining.

“It feels good to get the win for ( the seniors) because I know they deserve it,” said freshman Charley Rawlins, who contributed three 3-pointers in the third quarter for Fayetteville.

Brown provided most of the big plays for Fayetteville, especially in the fourth quarter when the Lady Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run that prompted two timeouts by Heritage. Brown opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer before working underneath for a rebound basket. Johnson scored twice before Beck swished a 3-pointer from the corner to give Fayetteville a 54-39 lead.

Brown also banked in a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to pull Fayetteville to within 25-23 of Heritage after trailing by as much as seven points in the second quarter.

“Whitney has become our most important person when we need a spark and that’s what you saw tonight,” Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. “She’s passionate about what she’s doing and she understands the game.”

Fayetteville missed a lot of shots early, including one sequence when three attempts at the basket failed to even hit the rim. But the Lady Bulldogs warmed up midway through the second quarter that began with a three-point play from Brown. Fayetteville dominated play to start the fourth quarter but Heritage used a 9-0 run to pull to within 54-50 behind the play of Carlee Casteel, who finished with 25 points.

Fayetteville answered when Beck split defenders for a basket and Brown finished the night with two free throws to secure the victory on Senior Night for the Lady Bulldogs.

Conference play concludes on Friday when Fayetteville travels to Fort Smith Southside and Heritage returns home to face Rogers High.