Junior guard Amber Hawkison's 23 points led North Little Rock to a 72-56 victory over the Mount St. Mary Belles Tuesday night, but it was clear from tipoff to final buzzer that the Belles would put up a fight.
Mount St. Mary, which won its first conference game since 2014 against Bryant a week earlier, played even better in defeat against North Little Rock at Mount St. Mary Gymnasium, first-year coach Lauren Ramsey said.
"I think this is the best game we've played," Ramsey said. "North Little Rock is probably the best team in the state, and to stay within 16 points of them means a lot."
"Lauren really has them playing well," North Little Rock Coach Daryl Fimple said. "They're going to beat some people."
Ramsey said she was particularly pleased by her team's second-half effort when the Belles cut a 19-point halftime deficit to 12 before the Charging Wildcats pulled away.
North Little Rock (16-1, 3-0 7A-Central) looked like a team geared for another Class 7A state championship run through most of the first half.
In typically explosive fashion, it scored six points in the final four seconds of the first half to build a 46-27 lead.
Hawkison hit a three-pointer as the first-half clock ticked down, then sophomore Kennady Tucker stole Mount St. Mary's inbound pass under the basket and laid it in at the buzzer. She was fouled on the shot and made her free throw as players walked to their dressing rooms for halftime.
Mount St. Mary (7-9, 1-2) chipped away at North Little Rock's lead to begin the second half behind senior forward Lizzie Allgood, who finished with 20 points. Two free throws by senior center Mary Rhinehart put Mount St. Mary within 50-38 with 1:38 left in the third quarter.
"We knew coming in here that Lizzie is a very good player," Fimple said. "We'd heard that and it's easy to see on film. She just plays so hard, but they all play hard. They really are a good team."
North Little Rock (72)
Hawkison 8 4-4 23, Brown 1 0-0 2, Mackey 1 0-0 3, Morris 3 3-4 9, Ford 1 0-0 3, Sadler 1 1-2 3, Tucker 3 4-5 11, Petus 0 0-0 0, McGee 0 0-0 0, Tillman 6 5-6 18, Neal 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 17-21 72
Mount St. Mary (56)
Snook 2 0-0 4, Rogers 0 2-2 2, Grice 5 0-0 10, Crawford 2 1-2 6, Kauffman 1 0-0 2, Ellzey 0 0-0 0, Allgood 5 9-10 20, Rhinehart 5 2-2 12. Totals 20 14-16 56
North Little Rock (16-1) 19 27 10 16 -- 72
Mount St. Mary (7-9) 10 17 13 16 -- 56
Three-point shots -- North Little Rock 6 (Hawkison 3, Mackey, Tucker, Tillman); Mount St Mary 2 (Crawford 1, Allgood 1). Total fouls -- North Little Rock 16; Mount St. Mary 21
Sports on 01/18/2017