CONWAY -- Conway went back to the Fut'ra to stop Fort Smith Northside on Tuesday night.
Senior forward Fut'ra Banks scored 21 points and made four steals as the Lady Wampus Cats turned a close game into a 64-49 victory over the Lady Bears in a 7A-Central conference game at Buzz Bolding Arena.
Conway (15-4, 3-0) scored five of the last seven points of the first half to send the Lady Cats into the locker room with a 30-23 advantage. She also produced a layup and a three-pointer during a key stretch in the third quarter that allowed Conway to expand a 33-28 lead into a 41-28 advantage.
"I was really pleased with Fut'ra because she's kind of been in a little slump," Conway Coach Ashley Nance said. "She's gotten into foul trouble the last few games, especially in some of our bigger games and I think that's caused her to be a little discouraged. We gave her a goal of having only one foul in the first half and she had only one foul the whole night,"
Banks did most of her damage in the first half, scoring 11 points to go with 3 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Senior guard Savannah Lowe tied Banks for team-high scoring honors, collecting 14 of her points in the final two quarters.
"Fut'ra is a confidence player," Nance said. "If she misses a few shots, she's not going to take a three. If she takes a three-pointer, it's going to be one she knows she's going to make it. It's got to feel good to her. ... Her shot is strange, but when she's confident, she can make shots from anywhere."
Northside (8-8, 1-2) led 19-16 two minutes into the second quarter after Topazia Hawkins hit a three-footer, but the Lady Bears managed only four more points the remainder of the half.
Conway was guilty of 31 turnovers, but the Lady Bears failed to take advantage, committing 23 of their own. Northside was also outrebounded 43-31 and hit only 16 of 52 shots.
"We've been progressing, playing better in the last month," Northside Coach Rickey Smith said. "Defensively, they really bothered us with their 1-3-1 zone. ... Defensively, we were OK, but we got to gambling late and gave up some layups. But we didn't shoot very well and we missed nine free throws."
Conway scored 47 points on either layups or free throws.
"Turnovers have disturbed me all year," Nance said. "It's been our biggest issue all year. ... We're not valuing possessions like we should."
Conway led 48-34 to start the fourth quarter, and Northside did not get any closer than 58-47 with 3:33 left.
Hawkins led Northside with 21 points, while collecting 7 rebounds and making 5 steals.
FS NORTHSIDE (49)
Hawkins 8 4-6 21, Kinnard 1 0-1 3, Bandimere 2 1-2 6, Carey 1 2-4 4, Webster 2 5-8 9, Smith 2 0-0 4, Mays 0 0-0 0, Green 0 2-2 2. Totals 16 14-23 49.
CONWAY (64)
Evans 0 0-0 0, Smith 3 1-2 7, Banks 9 2-4 21, Lowe 8 4-4 21, Higgins 2 3-5 8, Ashworth 0 0-0 0, Wells 0 0-0 0, Lewis 0 0-0 0, Nolen 1 0-0 2, Chatman 0 0-0 0, Yelder 2 1-1 5. Totals 25 11-16 64.
FS Northside (8-8) 13 10 11 15 -- 49
Conway (15-4) 16 14 18 16 -- 64
Three-point goals -- Northside 3 (Hawkins, Kinnard, Bandimere); Conway 3 (Banks, Lowe, Higgins). Team fouls -- Northside 15, Conway 20. Fouled out -- Hawkins.
Sports on 01/18/2017