FAYETTEVILLE -- Shots were not falling all night. The top player in the 7A-West Conference was having her way on the opposing end and with a nine-point deficit with under six minutes to play, Fayetteville appeared to have little hope against conference leader Fort Smith Northside.
When just about everything had gone wrong, though, everything began to go right Friday night. The Lady Bulldogs stormed back with a furious finish and got a clutch game-winner when Lauren Holmes' 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds lifted Fayetteville to an improbable 57-54 victory in Bulldog Arena.
Girls
Fayetteville 57, Fort Smith Northside 54
FS Northside^12^15^15^12^—^54
Fayetteville^11^12^13^21^—^57
FS Northside (22-2, 7-1): Jackson 28, Webster 11, Hardesty 6, Krissman 5, Hawkins 2, Terry 2.
Fayetteville (15-6, 6-2): Holmes 13, Morgan 13, Mayberry 8, Spangler 8, P. Jones 7, Franklin 4, Breathitt 2, B. Jones 2.
Boys
Fayetteville 65, Fort Smith Northside 50
FS Northside^15^5^11^19^—^50
Fayetteville^19^15^13^18^—^65
FS Northside (11-11, 3-4): Joe 14, Norwood 13, Griffin 8, Brewer 7, Phillips 4, Perry 2, Forsey 1, Lewis 1.
Fayetteville (19-2, 8-0): Breathitt 22, Willis 20, Wymer 8, Youngbloood 6, Carlson 5, Brown 2, Roth 2.
"Northside's zone is really good, and they do such a good job of making you make shots, and we didn't make them early," Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. "But the key of the night had nothing to do with coaches or anything like that. It had to do with my kids' heart. They fought with everything they had, and to come back and beat a team like that is something."
Rimmer implored his Lady Purple'Dogs to keep the pace at breakneck speed the entire game. Finally in the closing minutes, the hectic style paid off. In a mad dash, Fayetteville went from a 48-39 deficit with 5 minutes, 7 seconds remaining to a 52-50 lead with under two minutes left. Grayce Spangler started the rally with a three-point play. DeShundra Morgan, who led the Lady'Dogs with 13 points, hit another 3-pointer to pull Fayetteville within 50-48.
Baskets by Maya Mayberry and Jasmine Franklin completed the comeback, giving Fayetteville (15-6, 6-2 7A-West) a 52-50 lead, its first since 11-10 in the first quarter.
From there on it was up and down, back and forth in a flurry for the final two minutes. Just as the previous few minutes had been, and just the way the Lady Bulldogs liked it.
"To be honest I just let them play, and they executed like a mature basketball team," Rimmer said. "Our practices look just like that, fast-paced and up and down.
"When we play slow we turn the ball over, and when we play fast we play better."
Aahliyah Jackson, the Northside senior who signed with Texas A&M, did about as much as she could to carry the Lady Bears (22-2, 7-1). Jackson finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds, also connecting on 11 of 14 free throws. But after Jackson and her teammates frustrated Fayetteville most of the game with their perimeter defense, things changed down the stretch.
"Give (Fayetteville) credit, they hit some big shots," Northside coach Rickey Smith said. "They didn't get frustrated and we had a chance a couple of times, I thought, to make it rough on them. But they hit the timely shots and it seemed like every time we'd get on a break, they'd get a steal or make a play. And give them credit. They hit a big basket there at the end."
Holmes, who also scored a team-high 13 for Fayetteville, got the called play for the game-winner. Despite a 2-for-9 night from the 3-point line before the last attempt, Holmes' attempt from just in front of the Lady'Dogs' bench was all net.
"She had missed a few and she had made a few," Rimmer said. "The thing with her is she has no conscience, and she just nailed it."
Boys
Fayetteville 65, Fort Smith Northside 50
Josh Breathitt was a mismatch for Northside's defenders all night, scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead Fayetteville as the Bulldogs remained unbeaten in league play.
"I thought we played with good energy and come out well in the first half and then we slowed down a little bit and seemed to lose interest," Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. "But the thing that excites me is it's different people. Drake (Wymer) played awesome in the first half. He was a difference maker. Josh was steady. Payton was steady and we were able to put them away."
Fayetteville (19-2, 8-0) built a 20-point lead before the Grizzlies (11-11, 3-5) briefly trimmed the deficit to 53-44 in the fourth quarter. Willis finished 20 points and seven assists and Wymer added eight points. Isiah Joe led Northside with 14.
Sports on 02/06/2016