CABOT — Daryl Fimple’s 400th career victory was sealed at the free-throw line.
North Little Rock made all eight of its free throws in the final 1:12 to preserve a 52-45 victory over Cabot on Friday night at Panther Arena.
Fimple, who has been at North Little Rock, earned his 400th victory in his 17th season in high school coaching. He coached at Shirley in 1999-2000 and Lonoke in 2000-2005 before arriving at North Little Rock.
“It’s pretty special,” Fimple, 40, said. “When you put it in milestones like that, you think about all of the kids who helped you get to 400. It also means you’re getting old.”
North Little Rock’s 42-35 lead was trimmed to 42-40 with 1:12 left. But senior guard Kyra Collier, who had a game-high 16 points, made eight free throws down the stretch for the Lady Charging Wildcats (18-4, 7-1), who remained in first place in the 7A/6A-East Conference with Friday’s victory.
The Lady Charging Wildcats finished 18 of 21 at the free-throw line.
Sophomore Amber Hawkison had 15 points. No other North Little Rock player had more than six points.
For Cabot (13-10, 4-4), junior Josie Vannoss had a team-high 15 points. Leighton Taylor scored all 12 of her points in the second half, converting on four three-pointers.
“We had a lot of opportunities,” Cabot Coach Carla Crowder said. “We have to finish. We just didn’t finish.
“They’re a really good team. They’re well-coached.”