A near-perfect fourth quarter brought No. 2 Conway back from a 12-point deficit to stun top-ranked North Little Rock 69-64 Tuesday night at the Charging Wildcats Arena.
Junior guard Myia Yelder scored 13 of her 24 points in the final 6:23 as Conway (15-1, 2-0) earned its fifth consecutive victory. North Little Rock (12-3, 1-1) led 47-35 with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter and still maintained a 56-46 advantage with 6:10 left.
"I felt like we were moving better offensively," Conway Coach Ashley Nance said. "And our shooters started making shots. They were able to put a lot of pressure on our guards early because we weren't hitting threes."
Conway was 14 of 32 from the floor in the first three quarters, but was 8 of 12 in the final eight minutes, finishing 22 of 44. The Lady Wampus Cats also hit their first nine free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
Conway was guilty of 15 turnovers in the first three quarters but committed only one in the final eight minutes. Three of Conway's five three-pointers came in the fourth quarter.
"They played a really good fourth quarter," NLR Coach Daryl Fimple said. "They got into the bonus so early and their two juniors [Yelder and Asiyha Smith] took it right to us. ... Threes in girls basketball is like a dunk. It gives you so much momentum."
North Little Rock was 5-of-14 shooting in the fourth quarter and was 22 of 57 for the game. The Lady Charging Wildcats went to the free-throw line only two times in the fourth quarter. They missed their final six three-point attempts.
Smith finished with 19 points, keeping the Lady Wampus Cats in the game in the first half with 12 points. Reagan Roetzel scored nine points. Cardina Nolen also added nine points and grabbed six rebounds.
Conway tied the game at 60-60 on Alyssa Netherlain's three-pointer with 3:28 to play. Smith's two free throws 28 seconds later put Conway on top for good.
Junior De'Myla Brown led North Little Rock with 18 points. Senior guard Amber Hawkison added 15 points, and junior guard Jordyn Neal and senior post player An'nyah Pettus each scored 13.
CONWAY (69)
Pickens 0 2-2 2, Roetzel 3 0-0 9, Yelder 6 11-14 24, Smith 7 5-7 19, Nolen 4 1-1 9, Netherlain 1 0-0 3, Chatman 1 1-3 3. Totals 22 20-27 69.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK (64)
Neal 5 2-2 13, Hawkison 6 0-0 15, Brown 6 4-5 18, Ott 0 0-0 0, Mackey 0 0-0 0, Tucker 0 1-2 1, Pettus 4 5-6 13, S. Morris 1 2-4 4. Totals 22 14-19 64.
Conway (15-1) 10 16 15 28 -- 69
NLR (12-3) 13 18 20 13 -- 64
Three-point goals -- Conway 5 (Roetzel 3, Yelder, Netherlain). NLR 6 (Hawkison 3, Brown 2, Neal). Team fouls -- Conway 17, NLR 21. Fouled out -- Hawkison. Technicals -- Smith; Hawkison.
Sports on 01/10/2018