Coriah Beck was close to fouling out Tuesday when she picked up her fourth quarter late in the third quarter.

Fortunately for Fayetteville, she didn’t.

Beck took over in the fourth quarter and finished with 23 points to lead Fayetteville to a 53-45 victory over rival Springdale in 7A-West Conference action at the Bulldogs gym. Beck had eight points in the fourth quarter after she returned to the court with six minutes left to play.

“When I put (Beck) back in the game, that’s when everything changed,” Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. “She had some quick buckets and made a couple of defensive plays. She was definitely a difference-maker for us.”

Fayetteville (13-0, 21-3) needs only a victory at home over Van Buren on Friday to finish unbeaten in conference play for the second consecutive season. Fayetteville defeated Van Buren 59-39 in the teams’ first meeting on Jan.

26.

Beck picked up her fourth foul with 19.2 seconds left in the third quarter. She returned in the fourth quarter and posted down low to score six quick points. Jasmine Franklin added two baskets before Beck scored again to give Fayetteville a 51-42 lead.

Sasha Goforth added 14 points and Franklin 11 points for Fayetteville, which pounded the ball inside after making all four of its 3-pointers in the first half. Marquesha Davis scored 19 and Sarah Vogel 10 to lead Springdale (17-9, 8-5).

Fayetteville used three 3-pointers by Davis and one from Kennedy Bobbitt to grab a 17-5 lead. But Spring-dale responded on its home court behind Davis, who had a subpar performance in the loss at Fayetteville earlier this season.

Davis had 13 points in the first half, including three consecutive baskets with a baseline jumper to put Springdale ahead 24-22. Jeniya Gause, Sarah Vogel, and Thaly Sysavanh each hit 3-pointers to contribute to the surge.

Fayetteville was 9 of 17 from the free-throw line while Springdale was 8 of 12.