7A/6A-CENTRAL GIRLS

Northside hangs on from line

FORT SMITH - The battle between the two top girls teams in the state lived up to its billing Tuesday night.

Brianna Jackson scored a game-high 23 points and top ranked Fort Smith Northside held off a late comeback attempt by No. 2 Greenwood for a 64-59 victory at Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse.

Trailing by 12 heading into the fourth quarter, the Lady Bulldogs cut the lead to 50-46 with back-to-back baskets by Megan Hartness, but the momentum shifted quickly after that.

Greenwood (12-3, 3-1 7A/6A-Central) fouled Northside’s Jill Myers, and Greenwood Coach Clay Reeves was called for two technical fouls with 4:19 left in the game. Myers, who finished with 13 points, ended up making 7 of 8 free throws - she also drew another personal foul - to give the Lady Bears (15-1, 4-0) a 57-46 lead.

“I wasn’t frustrated or mad at all,” Reeves said. “I was just asking about something that was going on in the game. I’ve had one technical in 12 years and maybe three to four in 26 years.”

The Lady Bulldogs battled back to cut the lead to 59-55 with 1:53 left in the game on a basket by Lundon Williams that capped a 9-2 run, which included taking advantage of a technical foul by Myers. But Greenwood could get no closer.

Northside took an 8-2 lead after getting a strong start from Jackson, who finished with 10 points in the quarter. Greenwood rallied with a 10-4 run and tied it up at 12-12 heading into the second quarter.

The Lady Bears used a 14-5 run coming out of halftime to take a 43-30 lead behind Olivia Hanson, who finished with eight points in the quarter and 18 in the game.

Williams led Greenwood with 16 points while Hartness added 13.

Sports, Pages 21 on 01/22/2014

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