SPRINGDALE -- Fort Smith Northside knew just what to do when it was threatened Tuesday in a close game.
Get the ball to Aahliyah Jackson.
Girls
Northside^17^12^10^22^—^61
Har-Ber^13^10^12^11^—^46
Northside (21-1, 6-0): Jackson 25, Krissman 12, Kinnard 7, Hardesty 7, Bandimere 4, Terry 3, Hawkins 3.
Har-Ber (13-8, 2-4): Shannon 13, Hornor 10, Collins 10, Higgins 6, Smith 5, Weber 2.
Boys
Har-Ber 69, Northside 52
Northside^13^13^12^14^—^52
Har-Ber^18^13^22^16^—^69
Northside (10-10, 2-4): Lewis 12, Griffin 10, Joe 8, Perry 5, Tran 4, Brewer 4, Forsey 4, Lee 3, Phillips 2.
Har-Ber (11-8, 4-2): Benson 18, Garrett 14, Perry 10, Hampton 9, Kaunitz 7, Brandon 5, Benford 4, King 2.
Jackson scored 25 points to lead No. 1 Northside to a 61-46 victory over Springdale Har-Ber Tuesday in 7A-West action at Wildcat Arena. Jackson had 18 points in the second half after Har-Ber twice got to within a basket of the Lady Bears. She had eight in the fourth quarter when Northside outscored Har-Ber 22-11.
"Jackson, she's just hard to stop," Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said of the McDonalds All-American who signed with Texas A&M. "We knew going into the game one (defender) couldn't stop her. So, we were trying to keep one in front and one behind her but she still got 25 points. She's got a lot of moves and she's strong."
Jackson responded with a 3-pointer after Har-Ber got to within 29-28 in the third quarter. Minutes later, she posted up inside and converted a three-point play to put Northside ahead 34-28.
Jacie Higgins opened the fourth quarter with a basket to cut the Northside lead to 39-37. But Jackson again responded with a three-point play to end an 8-0 surge and give Northside a 47-39 lead with under six minutes to play.
"I'm just really proud of our basketball team," Northside coach Rickey Smith said. "We shot the ball really well. We scored inside, outside, and we hit some free throws late."
Jackson received ample support from senior guard Lauren Krissman, who finished with 12 points. Krissman hit a 3-pointer to start the 8-0 run in the fourth quarter and she had another three in the second quarter to help Northside to a 29-23 halftime lead.
"Jackson is our go-to player, but Lauren Krissman is not far behind," Smith said. "She's a hard-nosed player and she hit some shots early to get us going. She's playing really, really well and that's what has made our team this year. Everyone contributes."
Har-Ber made the game interesting after falling behind 8-0 then 17-10 in the first half. But the Lady Wildcats missed some shots inside in the third quarter that would've helped.
Khanni Shannon scored 13 points to lead Har-Ber while Savanna Collins and Caroline Hornor contributed 10 apiece. Northside was 19 of 27 from the free-throw line while Har-Ber was 11 of 16.
"We played pretty well for three quarters," Wright said. "We spotted them 8-0 early then got over the fear, because we had a little bit of that in us. But in the fourth quarter Jackson proved why she's going to (Texas) A&M."
BOYS
Har-Ber 69, Northside 52
Avery Benson scored 18 points and Tyler Garrett 14 to lead Har-Ber past Northside.
Benson and Garrett combined for 14 in the third quarter when Har-Ber outscored Northside 22-12. Brennan Lewis scored 12 points to lead Northside.
Har-Ber (11-8, 4-2) will continue conference play Friday at Rogers Heritage.
Sports on 01/27/2016