FORT SMITH -- Rogers High got off to a strong start Saturday night as the Lady Mounties jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead over Fort Smith Northside.
But then the Lady Bears upped the defensive pressure.
7A-West Conference
Girls
Fort Smith Northside 58, Rogers High 43
Rogers^7^12^10^14^ — ^43
Northside^12^20^16^10^ —^58
Rogers (8-17, 2-10): Randels 10, Sagely 9, Sandor 6, Brown 4, Repella 4, Richmond 3, McKinney 3, Wisdom 2, Turner 1, Williams 1.
Northside (25-1, 11-1): McDonald 15, Jackson 12, Hood 9, Cooksey 2, Krissman 6, Shepard 5, Jones 4, Myers 3, Alston 2.
Boys
Fort Smith Northside 81, Rogers High 66
Rogers^16^17^18^15^ —^ 66
Northside^14^33^15^19^ —^ 81
Rogers (7-18, 2-10): Freeland 14, Salvador 14, Allen 10, McCullough 8, Benninghoff 7, Mayer 7, Heffley 4, Cooper 1, Mincks 1.
Northside (18-8, 8-4): Brewer 24, Triplett 11, Dorsey 10, Patterson 10, Jones 7, Lewis 7, Mondier 5, Forsey 5, Phillips 2.
Northside erased an early five-point deficit with a 16-0 run and the Lady Bears went on to post a 58-43 victory over the Lady Mounties in a 7A-West conference game. The win keeps Northside (25-1, 11-1 7A-West) tied atop the league standings with Fayetteville.
Tiarra McDonald led Northside with 15 points while Aahliyah Jackson added 12. Nine Northside players found the scoring column.
"We played pretty good," said Northside coach Rickey Smith. "Good win for us and this is our 25th win 14, 15 years in a row. Proud of that. You have to give Rogers credit, they hung in there down the stretch."
Northside held Rogers without a field goal for 7 minutes, 20 seconds in the first half and they forced 15 first half turnovers while taking a 32-19 lead at halftime. Nine of Rogers' turnovers came during the Lady Bears' 16-0 run that gave them a 18-7 cushion.
"Northside scored from a lot of positions," said Rogers coach Preston Early. "Northside is really good, and they did what they needed to do tonight."
Rogers (8-17, 2-10) was as close as 23-17 late in the first half after a 3-pointer by Maddi McKinney. But Northside closed out the first half with a 9-2 run for the 13-point halftime lead. Northside took a 48-29 lead to the fourth quarter.
Elise Randels led Rogers with 12 points while Brooke Sagely added nine.
"We competed well tonight," Early said. "If nothing else, we feel like we came away from this with a competitive spirit."
Boys
Fort Smith Northside 81, Rogers High 66
Northside used a 12-0 run during a 33-point second quarter scoring barrage to defeat the Mounties. Rogers (7-18, 2-10) led 20-17 early in the second quarter but Northside's Tevin Brewer scored 13 of game-high 24 points the last seven minutes before halftime to give the Grizzlies (18-8, 8-4) a 47-33 halftime lead.
Tyler Triplett and Keyshawn Dorsey were also in double figures for Northside with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Northside took a 62-51 lead to the fourth quarter.
Rogers went 3:50 without a field goal in the second quarter. Milacio Freeland and Daniel Salvador led Rogers with 14 points each. Will Allen was also in double figures for the Mounties with 10 points.
Paul Nielsen can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NWAPaul
Sports on 02/22/2015