7A/6A-EAST GIRLS

Bad shot turns out good, lifts NLR girls in OT

— Kyra Collier’s unauthorized drive into the lane and ensuing off-balanced shot that resulted in a three-point play spurred North Little Rock to a 50-40 overtime victory over Cabot in 7A/6A-East action on Friday night at the Charging Wildcats’ arena.

Collier’s twisting shot came with 2:36 remaining in overtime and was as bizarre as the game itself, but it gave the Lady Charging Wildcats’ a six-point advantage and Cabot drew no closer to five points the rest of the way.

North Little Rock (13-5, 6-2) was clinging to a 34-31 lead when the 5-8 freshman darted into the lane.

“She’s a freshman who wasn’t supposed to shoot it,” North Little Rock Coach Daryl Fimple said. “We’re just trying to hold the ball and get a free throw. The smart thing to do would be to pull the ball out, but she shoots a 360 [-degree] shot. You’ve got to be lucky sometimes.”

The teams struggled to score for the first 28 minutes. North Little Rock led 26-19 with 4:51 remaining in regulation before Cabot (12-6, 5-3) rallied and tied the game on Elliot Taylor’s free throws with 20.7 seconds left.

The Lady Panthers had a chance for a game-winning shot when Jaylin Bridges made a steal with 16 seconds to play, but a traveling violation 12 seconds later sent the game into the extra period.

Sophomore Malica Monk scored eight of her game-high 20 points in the overtime. Senior Sasha Giles scored six of her 14 points in the overtime.

Taylor scored 8 of her team’s 10 points in the overtime. She finished with a team-high 13 points.

Cabot was guilty of 29 turnovers; North Little Rock committed 24.

Sports, Pages 25 on 02/02/2013

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