CONWAY -- Little Rock Central had an answer for Springdale Har-Ber's comeback attempt Thursday.
It was Kiara Williams, a sophomore center.
How They Scored
Little Rock Central 56, Springdale Har-Ber 51
Little Rock Central^14^13^9^20^—^56
Springdale Har-Ber^7^17^16^11^—^51
Little Rock Central (23-5): Williams 20, Ready 14, Lewis 10, Rufus 7, Washington 4, Orr 1.
Springdale Har-Ber (19-9): Montgomery 22, Redmond 12, Weber 8, Schalk 7, Higgins 2.
Williams scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Lady Tigers to a 56-51 victory over the Lady Wildcats Thursday in the opening game of the Class 7A state tournament at Buzz Bolding Arena. Williams took over after Bailey Schalk made two free throws to put Har-Ber ahead 42-38 early in the fourth quarter.
Williams (5-foot-11) scored nine points, including a spin into the lane that put Central ahead 50-48 with 54 seconds left in the game. She then made her fourth block of the game when Paige Redmond tried to drive inside for a layup.
The play ended with a Har-Ber foul and two free throws by Alaysia Ready to gave the Lady Tigers (23-5) a 52-48 lead with 45 seconds left.
"Kiara is a heck of a player," Central coach Michael Green said. "I wouldn't want to play without her. She can jump out of the gym and she's a great defender. Our kids know if they get beat off the dribble, they've got a great line of defense back there with Kia."
Marleeya Montgomery finished with 22 points for Har-Ber (19-9), which ended the season by losing four of its final five games. But the Wildcats fought back Thursday after trailing Central by 11 points in the first half. Har-Ber outscored Central 16-9 in the third quarter and took its first lead when Redmond made a 3-pointer. Redmond then turned a backcourt steal into a layup that put Har-Ber ahead 40-33 with 2 minutes, 35 seconds left in the third quarter.
"Our kids were a little nervous at first, but we overcame that," Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said. "We played one of our better games, but it wasn't meant to be."
Montgomery finally got some help after making five of the six baskets by Har-Ber in the first half. Redmond finished with 12 points while Samantha Weber added eight and Schalk seven. But Weber missed on a scoop shot and Schalk misfired on a short jumper with Har-Ber trailing 52-48.
Central kept the lead by making eight consecutive free throws to finish 21 of 32 from the line. Har-Ber was 23 of 30.
"We lost a game early because of (missed) free throws, so that's what we've been harping on," Green said. "We worked hard on our free throws in practice (Wednesday) and it paid off."
Sports on 03/07/2014