FORT SMITH -- Conway's fast start meant the Fort Smith Northside girls basketball team couldn't wait for halftime to make necessary adjustments Tuesday night.
The Lady Bears used a strong second quarter to bounce back from a nine-point deficit and took sole possession of first place in the 6A-Central Conference standings with a 75-56 victory over the Lady Wampus Cats in Kaundart-Grizzly Field House.
"Conway started out hot and shot the ball really well," Northside Coach Rickey Smith said. "They hit two or three, and you just turn around, look at your bench and shake your head and say, 'Wow.'
"We were a little flustered at first. We really were, and give Conway credit with their speed and quickness and transition basketball. We made a few turnovers, and they were the aggressors. We were passive."
Freshman guard Chloe Clardy hit consecutive three-pointers in the final minute to give Conway (14-4, 3-1 6A-Central) a 23-16 lead after one quarter, and the Lady Wampus Cats picked up a bucket by freshman post Savannah Scott to start the second quarter to build a nine-point cushion.
Northside (15-3, 4-0) embarked on a 15-3 run and claimed a 31-28 lead on Jersey Wolfenbarger's bucket with 2:55 left before halftime.
Clardy, who finished with a game-high 31 points, hit a three-pointer to tie the game at the 2:20 mark, but Northside picked up buckets by Jazzlyn Coleman and Hatianna Releford to take the lead for good before Clardy scored again to make it a 35-33 game at halftime.
The Lady Bears started the second half with a 14-3 run -- eight of those points by Releford -- and extended their lead to 49-38. The lead didn't drop below eight points again.
"We switched defenses a little bit -- just to slow them down -- and it did," Smith said. "It slowed down the pace a little bit and gave us time to catch our breath, then we went back to our man-to-man.
"We got hot and started shooting the basketball a little bit better. Jersey handled the ball a little bit and scored a lot of points, and Hatianna Releford was really aggressive, attacking and slashing across the middle. Tracey Bershers was spotting up and shooting it, and she can shoot it."
Wolfenbarger had 25 points to lead four Northside players in double figures, followed by Releford with 20, Tracey Bershers with 17 and Coleman with 11. Clardy was the only Conway player in double figures.
Sports on 01/22/2020