SPRINGDALE -- There were four 6A-West Conference girls basketball teams with one loss in league play when the weekend started.
Now there's only one, and Hazley Grotjohn made sure Fort Smith Northside had that distinction -- even if it took a little extra work.
The junior guard's spin move resulted in a clutch three-point play to give the Lady Bears the lead with 26.2 seconds remaining in overtime, and they hung on to claim sole possession of first place in the league standings with a 58-55 victory over Springdale during Saturday's makeup game at Bulldog Gymnasium.
"Man, I've done that spin move all my life, and it just works," Grotjohn said. "The girl started playing over one way, so I thought I would spin on her because nobody was playing on the other side. When I spun around here, I got that layup.
"I spun to my left -- to the outside. I normally spin to my right, but I can go both ways."
Northside (17-3, 6-1) had taken a 54-52 lead on Cherish Blackmon's bucket inside with 1:57 remaining in overtime before Springdale (16-4, 5-2) used three straight trips to the free-throw line for its lead. Aubriana Wilson's second free throw -- a result of a Northside technical foul -- tied the game at 54-54 with 1:19 remaining, then Kaiya McCoy hit one of two free throws to put the Lady Bulldogs ahead with 54.1 seconds left.
That set the stage for Grotjohn, who took the pass from Erianna Gooden near the baseline and was fouled as she scored the go-ahead bucket off her spin move. Her free throw made it a 57-55 game, then Erikka Gooden added a free throw with 11 seconds left and gave Northside a three-point cushion as Springdale's last-chance three-point attempt hit the outside of the net.
"I knew going in there were a million different scenarios," Lady Bears Coach Rickey Smith said. "We could go from first place to fourth place. First of all, congratulations to Springdale. They came out shooting the ball well, and we were fortunate to be shooting well. It was just a game of ebbs and flows.
"Throughout the game, Hazley Grotjohn was super aggressive in attacking the rim. They were doubling on [Erianna] Gooden and making her play faster than she wanted. Hazley, though, hit some clutch shots down the stretch. She hit two buckets when we had our backs against the wall."
Northside led 40-34 early in the fourth quarter after basket by Kayden Flemming and Arianna Gooden, but Springdale fought back and grabbed a 48-46 lead on McCoy's two free throws with 1:59 remaining in regulation. Fleming scored again to tie the game, but Charleen Hudson's bucket with 44 seconds left put Springdale back in front.
Grotjohn countered when she ran into the lane and scored with 9 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
Erianna Gooden and Grotjohn finished with 19 points apiece for Northside, which returns to conference play Tuesday at Bentonville West in first place after Fayetteville lost to Springdale Har-Ber on Saturday night.
McCoy finished with 14 to lead Springdale, which returns home Tuesday to host Rogers. Charleen Hudson had 13 and Wilson 11.
Boys
Springdale 62, Fort Smith Northside 32
Springdale bolted to a 17-1 first-quarter lead and rolled to a victory over Northside.
Jarvis Palmer had 18 points to lead three players in double figures for the Bulldogs (11-9, 4-3 6A-West), whose lead was cut to 28-18 at halftime but outscored the Grizzlies (7-13, 1-5) 21-7 in the third quarter to blow the game open.
Tyler Bell added 15 points and Brylan Sims 11 for Springdale. Antwoine Thomas led Northside with 16 points.