FORT SMITH — After a sluggish second quarter, Fort Smith Northside needed a wake-up call.
Haitiana Releford provided that third-quarter pick-me-up, powering the Lady Bears to a 66-53 6A-Central victory over North Little Rock on Friday at Kaundart Fieldhouse.
With the win, Northside (16-1, 6-0) stays in sole possession of first place near the midpoint of the conference race while the Lady Charging Wildcats (11-5, 4-2) falls to third place.
“In the second half we were much more active. We came up with the loose balls,” Northside Coach Rickey Smith said. “Yawny Releford was huge on the glass.”
Releford scored six points and grabbed four rebounds in the decisive quarter, which saw the Lady Bears outscore the Lady Charging Wildcats 20-5 to turn a 33-29 halftime deficit into a 49-38 lead going into the final eight minutes.
More important than her stats was the energy she provided, such as getting loose balls and batting rebounds in the air so a teammate could grab the ball.
“In the second quarter, it was North Little Rock with all of the energy,” Smith said. “They were getting the loose balls. At halftime, we just needed to settle down and relax, play better on the boards and do some things a little different on offense.”
Jersey Wolfenbarger led Northside with 17 points, including 9 in the critical third quarter, while Tracey Bershers contributed 15 and Ashya Harris added 13, including back-to-back three-pointers to increase the lead to 62-47 with 1:45 left.
Arin Freeman paced North Little Rock with 17 points while Amauri Williams added 10.
Northside led 22-14 after a quarter and appeared ready to seize control of the game. North Little Rock, though, fought back with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 24-24 with a Williams putback with 5:11 left in the half.
Then Kalina Foster drained a three-pointer to give the Lady Charging Wildcats their first lead of the game at 27-26. That basket sparked a 9-0 run, capped by Kyriana Jones layup with 1:12 left, to give North Little Rock its biggest lead of the game at 33-26. A three-point play by Bershers trimmed the Lady Bears’ halftime deficit to 33-29.
“I thought (North Little Rock) got us out of sync (in the second quarter). We were quick with our shots … a little panicky,” Smith said. “All year long, we’ve gotten people on the ropes and we are able to put them away. North Little Rock didn’t and that shows why they are a championship program.”
Northside went on a 13-0 run to start the second half and take control of the game. Releford scored six points to fuel the run.
“Releford was the difference,” North Little Rock Coach Daryl Fimple said. “She got on the glass and gave them a lot of second chances. We had a good plan, but in the third quarter we took some bad shots and kind of got out of our rhythm.”
Cailin Massey scored six answered in a two-minute span that saw the Lady Bears lead increase to 53-38 with 6:15 left. North Little Rock got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
BOYS
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 67,
FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 63
D.J. Smith’s drive with :00.3 sealed the win for the Charging Wildcats (11-5, 5-1 6A-Central) over the Grizzlies (7-8, 3-3).
Smith was fouled and a technical was called on the Northside bench. He made 2 of 3 free throws to set the final score. Ubong Etim blocked a shot by Northside’s Demarion Savoy and Smith got the ball and drove the length of the court for the game winner.
Smith led all scorers with 26 points while Tracy Steele added 13 for North Little Rock. Savoy and Demarion Whit-more each scored 16 to lead the Grizzlies while Sam Roper poured in 12 and Jacob Joe added 10.