HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS

Conway can't baffle Northside

CONWAY -- Every time Conway produced a flurry of points Tuesday night, Fort Smith Northside had an answer.

And 5-10 senior forward Tiya Douglas was the Lady Bears' leading problem solver.

Douglas scored a season-high 27 points as top-ranked Northside held off the No. 2 Lady Wampus Cats 65-55 at Buzz Bolding Arena.

Northside (15-0, 4-0) never trailed in the 6A-Central showdown, hitting 23 of 42 shots from the floor and earning a 41-25 advantage on the boards, but Conway (16-3, 3-1) and senior guard Myia Yelder -- who finished with 34 points -- never allowed Northside to get comfortable with its advantage.

Conway got as close as eight points -- 46-38 -- with 6:01 left.

"Our girls really wanted to win," Northside Coach Rickey Smith said. "[Conway] put us out of the state tournament last year. We've been preparing for this one for a while.

"Conway is a very talented team, but we shot the ball really well and Tiya Douglas played well. She took some pressure off of our other kids."

Douglas, who has been slowly coming off a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury, scored 9 of her 11 first-half points in the second quarter, tallying 6 consecutive points after Conway had closed to within 21-15 with 2:49 remaining in the half.

When Conway's Reagan Roetzel hit a three-pointer and Yelder picked up a steal and layup to open the second half, Northside answered by scoring 11 of the next 13 points, with Douglas scoring 8 of those.

"Tiya played phenomenal," said Northside senior Sara Bershers, who finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. "She's finally coming back after her ACL. She played like old Tiya right there."

Conway missed all five of its three-point attempts in the first quarter. Yelder scored 12 of the Lady Wampus Cats' first 13 points, and 14 of Conway's 17 first-half points.

"Northside's size, especially in the guard area, was a problem for us," Conway Coach Ashley Hutchcraft said. "I did not think we came out and played very well. Myia Yelder had an amazing game. She had that look of playoffs in her. And I don't think the rest of us followed."

Conway was 6-of-23 shooting in the first half, 17 of 58 for the game.

"I'm proud of my kids," Smith said. "They matched their runs. They matched their intensity. Conway is a team of explosive runs. This game wasn't over no matter how far we were up. When they start scoring, it comes in waves. We're long, and I thought our defense was really, really good."

Northside was also deep. Sophomore Jersey Wolfenbarger added 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore Tracey Bershers, who had 6 rebounds in the first five minutes, finished with 8 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists. Junior Jazz Coleman had only five points, but the 5-10 forward collected eight rebounds and hit back-to-back baskets midway through the fourth quarter that sparked a seven-point Northside run that turned a 46-38 advantage into a 53-38 lead.

While Yelder shined, Conway seniors Asiyha Smith and Roetzel were held to six points apiece.

"Pick your poison," Coach Smith said. "Smith can get 36 the next game. We know that.

"Conway came out and played a triangle-and-two on us early, and I thought it was important for some of our other kids to get involved early. We wanted to get them out of their defense and we did. We were a little more offensive-minded and more aggressive than we have been."

Sports on 01/16/2019

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