The North Little Rock girls basketball team got the best of Little Rock Central for the second time in four days Friday night.
Junior guard Amber Hawkison scored 15 points and the Lady Charging Wildcats defeated the Lady Tigers 66-56 at North Little Rock High School.
It was the second meeting this week between North Little Rock (20-2, 7-1 7A-Central Conference) and Central (17-3, 6-2). North Little Rock won Tuesday's game at Central 64-56 in a makeup game that was rescheduled from Jan. 6 because of inclement weather.
The game was tied at 54-54 with 3:00 left, but North Little Rock outscored Central 12-2 for its fourth consecutive victory since a 55-52 loss at Fort Smith Northside on Jan. 20. North Little Rock took a 62-54 lead thanks to six consecutive free throws, and Hawkison's steal and layup off a Central turnover.
Central junior forward Erynn Barnum's basket pulled her team within 62-56, but the Lady Charging Wildcats responded, with junior forward Yo'Myris Morris finding Hawkison for a layup to make it 64-56 with 1:08 left.
After Friday's victory, North Little Rock Coach Daryl Fimple compared playing Central twice in one week to playing back-to-back Super Bowls. Fimple said defeating Central was huge, but he doesn't want his team to get complacent as it enters the final three weeks of the regular season.
"I told them, you can do one of two things," said Fimple, whose team leads the 7A-Central. "You can keep getting better or you can relax. We want to keep our edge about us."
Sophomore guard Kennady Tucker finished with 14 points and went 10 of 11 at the free-throw line for North Little Rock. Morris added 12 points.
Senior guard Bre'Amber Scott, a Mississippi State signee, had a game-high 25 points for Central. Barnum scored 14 points, and sophomore guard Jordan Greenwood chipped in with 13 points.
Central, which led 35-32 at halftime, went 3 of 13 from the floor and committed 5 turnovers in the fourth quarter.
"Turnovers dictated the outcome of the game," Central Coach Michael Green said. "Plus, you've got to make free throws. You've got to make the chip shots around the basket."
North Little Rock hosts Conway on Tuesday. It's the fourth meeting between the two teams, with North Little Rock winning the first three, including a 58-50 victory Jan. 10 in the 7A-Central opener in Conway.
"I don't know if you can take an Arkansas schedule and make it any harder right now," Fimple said. "Our kids are tough, and they're coming together a little bit. You can see it paying off right now."
LR CENTRAL (56)
Jackson 1 0-1 2, Perry 1 0-0 2, Scott 8 9-17 25, Barnum 4 6-6 14, Greenwood 4 5-8 13. Totals 18 20-32 56
NORTH LITTLE ROCK (66)
Hawkison 7 0-0 15, Brown 1 3-4 6, Morris 4 4-7 12, Tucker 2 10-11 14, Tillman 3 2-4 9, Neal 1 5-7 7, McGee 1 1-1 3. Totals 19 25-34 66
LR Central (17-3);17 18 11 10 -- 56
North Little Rock (20-2);10 22 15 19 -- 66
Three-point goals -- Little Rock Central 0, North Little Rock 3 (Brown 1, Hawkison 1, Tillman 1). Team fouls -- Little Rock Central 25, North Little Rock 22. Fouled out -- Jackson, Scott, Barnum.
Sports on 02/04/2017