FAYETTEVILLE -- Little Rock Central has a lot of new faces on its team this year, but wound up with the same result at the Bulldog Classic.
The Lady Tigers won their third straight tournament championship, beating host Fayetteville 59-33 in the title game Saturday.
How They Scored
Little Rock Hall 59, Fayetteville 33
LR Hall^17^16^15^11^—^59
Fayetteville^8^9^14^2^—^33
LR Hall (6-1): K. Williams 18, Orr 14, Scott 7, Brown 7, S. Williams 6, Allen 3, Jackson 2, Perry 2
Fayetteville (2-3): P. Jones 10, Breathitt 7, Holmes 4, Schuldt 4, Crockett 3, Ratcliff 2, Morgan 2, Coulter 1.
Central (6-1) led almost the entire game, building a double-digit lead early in the first half and cruising to the big victory with a rotation that included five sophomores.
"The first two games got us focused," Central coach Mike Green said. "The first game was close and the second we broke it open in the second half. Those two games helped us for this one."
Junior post Kiara Williams was dominant, scoring 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting while finishing with 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. She won tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
"She can do everything," Green said. "Dribble, shoot, pass. The whole nine yards. I'm just happy she plays for me."
Central's size and athleticism in the front court took its toll on Fayetteville. The Lady Tigers scored numerous second-chance points and gave Fayetteville issues with their length on defense.
Central broke an early tie with a 16-4 run, taking control with a 20-8 lead early in the second quarter and extending the lead the rest of the game. The Lady Tigers led 33-17 at halftime and Fayetteville never got closer than 14 points in the second half.
Fayetteville (2-3) was able to generate good looks on offense at times, but struggled to hit shots. The Lady Bulldogs shot less than 25 percent from the floor.
"We didn't shoot the ball well, but Central's defense is so long it bothered us a little bit," Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. "We're getting to the lane and getting shots and they're challenging everything. That's the first time we've seen that kind of length."
Senior Kamry Orr scored 14 for Central. Junior Alaysia Ready earned all-tournament honors for the Lady Tigers. Pink Jones led Fayetteville with 10 points and had five rebounds. Guard Lauren Holmes earned all-tournament honors for the Lady Bulldogs.
Fayetteville's three losses have come against Central, Greenwood and Conway, three of the top teams in the state.
"I'm not OK with getting beat, but I'm OK with losing to teams like Conway, Greenwood and Little Rock Central," Rimmer said. "Those are obviously three of the top five, ten (teams) in the state. I'm upset we got beat, but Central played better than us. We'll fix it."
Sports on 12/07/2014