MOUNTAIN HOME - After ending the first half with a five-minute scoring drought, the Fayetteville Lady Bulldogs found their offensive rhythm again in the third quarter when they outscored the North Little Rock Lady Charging Wildcats 16-5 on the way to a 53-38 victory Saturday in the championship game of the 1st Arkansas Bail Bonds Tournament at The Hangar.
Fayetteville (6-2) led as much as 19-11 early in the second quarter and was up 21-15 before going scoreless for 5:02. North Little Rock (9-4) grabbed its first and only lead with a 10-0 run, going up 25-21 on a bucket by Dajha Hardamon before DaShundra Morgan ended Fayetteville’s scoring drought as North Little Rock led 25-23 at the half.
Morgan scored the first bucket of the second half, starting a 6-0 run that gave the Lady Bulldogs the lead for good. Camdyn McDaniel hit a three-pointer for the Lady Charging Wildcats at the 5:00 mark, but Sydney Crockett answered with a three-pointer on the other end as the Lady Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run, going up 37-28 before taking a 39-30 lead into the fourth quarter. Fayetteville led by as many as 18.
“We played a pretty good tournament and we’re continuing to gain confidence, not only individually but in each other,” Fayetteville Coach Vic Rimmer said. “We made some good plays in spots where we needed to, and I thought we defended pretty well.
“I know they had one kid hurt and one kid sick, and that did make a big difference, but I liked the way we went out there and executed on offense and I for sure liked the way we guarded them.”
Morgan led Fayetteville with 19 points and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Crockett finished with 18 points as she went 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. Crockett made 22 consecutive free throws in the tournament before her only miss with 4:38 left.
Kyra Collier led North Little Rock with nine points and Brogan Jones added eight points.
GIRLS ROUNDUPS
HARDING ACADEMY 57, RIVERVIEW 38 Riley Rose and Shelby Gowen scored 16 points each as the Lady Wildcats (8-3) posted a victory over the Lady Raiders (8-3) in the consolation round of the Holiday Classic in Beebe. Ericka Johns scored 11 to lead Riverview, which trailed 34-19 at the half.
SHERIDAN 56, CAMDEN FAIRVIEW 37 Hannah Schultz led the Lady Jackets with 16 points and Ashton Hill followed with 15 as Sheridan defeated the host Lady Cardinals in the semifinals of the Fairview Holiday Classic. Chantry Ross scored 13 to lead Fairview while Shomari Willis and Jalissa Avery each scored nine for Fairview.
STEPHENS 55, PRESCOTT 46 Kourtney Johnson led the Lady Roadrunners with 23 points in a consolation-round victory over the Lady Wolves in the Fairview Holiday Classic in Camden. Shaylon McKamie added 17 and Alyiah Murphy 10 for Stephens. Prescott was led by Kiyair Webb and Karlie Galarza, who each had 15 points.
Sports, Pages 23 on 12/29/2013