LITTLE ROCK — Freshman turns it on for Central
Kiara Williams has been “turned loose.”
Williams, a 5-11 freshman, scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Little Rock Central Lady Tigers’ 58-30 victory over Searcy on Friday night.
“I’ve brought her along slowly, but it’s time to turn her loose,” Central Coach Michael Green said.
Williams collected four rebounds in the first half, but began to dominate the inside during the final two quarters. She grabbed 11 rebounds in the second half, nine of them coming on the offensive end. She also had two steals and two blocked shots.
“She played really well tonight,” Green said. “She’s a heck of a athlete. ... She jumps really well. She’s got great hands. She’s a good rebounder and by the time she leaves here, she’s probably going to be a great rebounder.”
While Williams posted one of her best performances of the season, the Lady Tigers (9-4, 1-0 7A/6A-East) got the usual steady performance from senior guard and Arkansas State signee Jamie Ruffins, who finished with 8 points, 6 steals, 4 assists and 8 rebounds.
Central is at home Tuesday against Jonesboro.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK Getting even
North Little Rock’s Lady Charging Wildcats were humbled in their first encounter with Cabot this season, suffering a 67-43 setback in the final of the Heavenly Hoops Tournament at Mount St. Mary in Little Rock.
On Friday, the Lady Cats topped Cabot 54-50 in the 7A/6A-East Conference opener at Cabot.
“That first loss to Cabot was one of the best things to happen to us,” North Little Rock Coach Daryl Fimple said. “It hurts as a coach getting your butt kicked, but every practice and game has been better since then.”
Freshman Kyra Collier and junior Kiara Webb each scored 10 points for North Little Rock on Friday. Senior Elliot Taylor led Cabot with 20 points, but no other Lady Panther scored more than nine points.
North Little Rock (8-4, 1-0) won despite hitting only 10 of 26 free throws.
“I don’t know what was going on tonight,” Fimple said. “Everything was long, like we thought the goal was 75 feet away for something. I do know what we’ll be working on these next few practices though.”
North Little Rock plays at home Tuesday against West Memphis.
6A-SOUTH BOYS
Hot in the second half
Held to four points in the opening half, Pine Bluff senior Darrian Key burned host Texarkana for 22 points in second half in a 68-66 overtime victory over the Razorbacks on Friday.
Key hit two free throws to send the game into overtime and then hit four more in the extra period. Pine Bluff (6-5, 1-0 6A-South) scored the game-winning points on two free throws by freshman Marcus Thomas with 2.8 seconds to play.
“We missed a bunch of layups” said Texarkana Coach Ronnie Burns, whose team fell to 8-8. “You make those and take care of your business and we don’t go to overtime. ... [Our players] are disappointed, but this is a learning experience.
Pine Bluff is one of the best teams in the conference and we had a chance to beat them.”
Sheridan (10-3, 1-0) earned its ninth consecutive victory Friday when junior Dylan Morris hit a three pointer with eight seconds left to lift the Yellow Jackets to a 40-38 victory over Lake Hamilton.
Morris and Austen Theiss each scored 12 points to lead Sheridan, which trailed 35-29 to start the fourth quarter.
JONESBORO An early blowout
Jonesboro’s boys scored the final 10 points of the first quarter on their way to a 54-36 victory over visiting West Memphis on Friday.
Marquise Pointer led the Hurricane (12-2, 1-0 7A/6AEast) with 14 points, but it was guards Tony White and Kahron Ross who provided the key runs for Jonesboro.
White scored six of the Hurricane’s final 10 points of the first quarter. Ross scored six of his 11 points early in the third quarter as Jonesboro began to coast.
“Anytime you come out on your home court in a game that we should win, you want to get off to a good start,” Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift said. “We also knew that the underdog also wants to get off to a good start, and we didn’t want [West Memphis] to hang around long enough to affect the way we attacked. I was proud of the first quarter.”
Jonesboro has won eight consecutive games by an average of 15.1 points per game.
“Jonesboro is very quick with the ball, but we knew that coming in,” West Memphis Coach Larry Bray said.
“Ross is one of the better point guards in our conference, but he also has a great supporting cast. It’s not all him.” CONWAY Boyd sparks Cats
After Russellville had scored the first eight points of the second half to take a 25-21 lead against Conway on Friday night, Tim Boyd responded to help the Wampus Cats regain control of the game.
Boyd hit two three-pointers as Conway (10-3, 1-0 7A/6A-Central) scored the next 10 points on their way to a 54-45 victory over the host Cyclones.
“Both teams are very competitive and very good,” said Boyd, who finished with 22 points. “This win meant a lot to us. It was for bragging rights.”
Justin Leon grabbed 10 rebounds in Conway while Russellville was led by 14 points and six rebounds from Dakota Young.
8-4A BOYS Showdown looms
Monticello and Warren are on course for a huge game this week in Warren.
On Friday, Monticello (11-2, 2-0 8-4A) used an 11-point effort from Mike Jones to turn back Dumas 45-39, while Warren (6-0, 2-0) had four players score 11 or more points in a 70-56 victory over DeWitt.
Ryan Clary led the Lumberjacks with 14 points, while VonEric Gonder and Darveon Brown added 12 each and Kaleel Thomas 11.
The Billies and Lumberjacks are scheduled to play next Friday.
GARLAND COUNTY England rebounds
Less than 24 hours after scoring 34 points in a 5-2A Conference loss to Poyen, England’s Josh Fudge scored 24 points in a 57-50 victory over Fountain Lake in Saturday’s opening round of the Garland County Tournament at Mountain Pine.
“Fudge is my team leader,” England Coach Tyler Scott said. “He’s as good as they come. He’s a great kid, very coachable. He works hard and will shoot the lights out. If the gym is open, he’ll be up there shooting.”
England (10-5) hit 22 of 41 field goals. Derrell Drayer added 18 points and Antonyo Means 15 for England. Andrew Freeman led Fountain Lake (6-6) with 22 points.
In other games Saturday:
Jessieville (10-4) cruised to a 51-30 victory over Cutter Morning Star (2-9) in boys play. Jake Applegate led the Lions with 11 points. Dalton Diles led Cutter Morning Star with 13 points.
Taylor Jeffress scored 20 points in leading Fountain Lake (7-5) to a 46-36 victory over England in girls action.
Katie Lampo added 15 for the Lady Cobras.
Poyen’s girls improved to 14-2 with a 52-42 victory over host Mountain Pine.
Alex Shaffer, coming off a 31-point performance Friday night, led the winners with 14 points while Kylie Smith and Elizabeth Kratz added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Jessie Miller’s 19 points led Mountain Pine.
SHORT SHOTS
Conway’s girls are averaging 73.1 points a game this season. In Friday’s 70-32 victory at Russellville, the Lady Wamputs Cats (11-2, 1-0 7A/6A-Central) had four girls score 10 or more points, led by Enjonae Chambers’ 17 points.
Zach Doyle scored 45 points for Hillcrest (18-3) in a 85-77 nonconference victory over Highland on Friday night.
Malvern’s girls won their 15th consecutive game Friday, a 49-29 victory at Bauxite. Sophomore Raven Baker led the Lady Leopards (15-1, 4-0, 4A-7) with 19 points, while Akasha Westbrook added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Jessica Jackson scored 26 points in Jacksonville’s 84-26 victory over Mills on Friday.
Buffalo Island Central’s Austin Pike and Augusta’s Jordan Brown each scored 25 points in BIC’s 74-72 victory Friday.
Forrest City junior Tre Thompson scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 6 shots in the Mustangs’ 63-56 victory over visiting Greene County Tech on Friday. It was the 5A-East opener for both teams.
Harding Academy sophomore Riley Rose scored 26 points in the Lady Wildcats’ 39-23 victory over Rose Bud.
Nettleton’s Ali Tucker made eight three-pointers and finished with 28 points in the Lady Raiders’ 79-53 victory over Wynne on Friday. Teammate Lexi Bellew added 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Brady Jones scored 35 points in leading Manila (11-4) to a 63-54 victory over Hoxie in a 3-3A game.
Jacob Futreel scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds in a 65-50 victory for Pocahontas over Trumann.
FRIDAY’S LAST-SECOND SHOTS
Dalton Dugan hit two free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining to give Poyen (14-1, 7-0) a 56-55 victory over visiting England on Friday. The Indians picked up a team-high 18 points from Kaleb Collins and overcame a 34-point effort from the Lions’ Josh Fudge. ... Desmond Pettis banked in a short shot with 1.8 seconds remaining to give Riverview a 52-51 victory over Barton. ... Savannah Skidmore hit a free throw with 2.8 seconds remaining to give Calico Rock a 43-42 victory over Norfork. ... Cade Niswonger’s pull-up jumper from the free-throw line beat the buzzer and gave Tuckerman a 67-65 victory over host Harrisburg. Niswonger finished with a game-high 32 points.
Rankings
BOYS OVERALL
North Little Rock ....................... 13-1
Little Rock Parkview ................... 7-1
Jonesboro ................................. 12-2
Clarksville .................................. 11-3
Fayetteville ................................. 11-3
Little Rock Hall ............................ 8-3
Jacksonville ................................. 8-3
Bentonville ................................. 12-3
Nettleton .................................... 13-1
Fort Smith Northside ................ 9-6
GIRLS OVERALL
Fort Smith Northside ................ 14-1
Little Rock Parkview ................... 5-1
Little Rock Hall .......................... 13-2
Bentonville ................................. 13-1
Greenwood ................................ 13-2
Conway ..................................... 11-2
Little Rock Central ....................... 9-4
Fort Smith Southside ................ 11-4
Paragould .................................... 9-3
North Little Rock ....................... 8-4
NOTE Classification rankings will begin next week. Coaches are encouraged to call in results after each game to 1-800-272-4650 or 501-378-3411.
Sports, Pages 28 on 01/06/2013