SPRINGDALE -- North Little Rock girls basketball Coach Daryl Fimple said there was no room for comfort when the Charging Wildcats built an 11-point lead Saturday in the third quarter of their quarterfinal game against Fort Smith Northside.
"That bunch has the heart of champions," Fimple said of Northside, "and they were going to come after us. We knew it, and we talked about it at halftime."
Northside came after North Little Rock, but the Lady Charging Wildcats had one more run in them.
Freshman guard Yo'Marris Morris scored from close range to start a string of nine consecutive points, and North Little Rock advanced to the semifinals of the Class 7A girls basketball state tournament with a 61-52 victory in Wildcat Arena.
"We hung in there," Fimple said. "We told them we would have to answer it and make some free throws."
North Little Rock (26-3) led 29-23 at halftime and stretched it to 38-27 when Kyra Coller was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three free throws with 4:36 seconds left in the third quarter.
Northside (27-2) cut that margin to 39-35 on Kira Shepard's layup just before the third quarter ended, then Aliyah Jackson hit two free throws to make it a two-point game just seconds into the fourth quarter.
Jackson pulled the Lady Bears within 47-45 with 3:52 remaining, but Northside couldn't get any closer. Morris started North Little Rock's run with her basket, and Ashton Nealsley's free throws gave the Lady Charging Wildcats a 56-45 lead with 2:17 remaining.
"We never got into a rhythm offensively," Northside Coach Rickey Smith said. "We felt rushed all night and played faster than we wanted to play. We didn't shoot well, including 4 of 23 in three-pointers. We just never got into the flow offensively.
"We were down two, had the ball in the middle and were going for a shot. The next thing I know, they steal and shoot a layup. We fouled for a three-point play, then we missed a three and they hit a three. So we go from down two to down eight."
Kyra Collier had 26 and Malica Monk 13 for North Little Rock
Sports on 03/08/2015