If Demyla Brown was feeling any pressure Tuesday night, the North Little Rock 5-7 sophomore did not show it.
Brown and her Lady Charging Wildcats teammates played keepaway from host Little Rock Central for 2:39 during a key fourth-quarter possession to propel No. 3 North Little Rock to a come-from-behind 65-56 victory over the top-ranked Lady Tigers in a 7A-Central showdown.
"I can't think of any situation that has more pressure," said Brown, who ended the possession by finding Yo'Myris Morris open for a layup, increasing North Little Rock's advantage to 55-48 with 2:13 remaining. Twenty seconds later, Brown hit free throws and Central was never any closer than seven points the rest of the way.
"She's guarded everybody's best player all year long," North Little Rock Coach Daryl Fimple said. "She's just a [player] who's a hard-nosed, really athletic, smart, heady kid. She came up with a couple of huge rebounds. ... She showed some toughness."
Brown finished with only six points, but she had four rebounds and three assists in the fourth quarter. She finished with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. With an athletic Central lineup attempting to chase down the ball, Brown's ball-handling and passing allowed North Little Rock to hold on to the ball.
"There was so much pressure trying to get the ball to my teammates and not turn it over," Brown said. "We were just keeping our heads up and trying to make the best pass possible."
Guard Amber Hawkison led North Little Rock with 17 points, while grabbing 7 rebounds and making 3 steals. Morris scored 12 points to go along with eight rebounds. Kennady Tucker added 11 points.
Central (18-1, 6-1) scored the game's first six points, hit 8 of 14 shots in the first quarter and never trailed in the first half. But with the Lady Tigers leading 42-33, Central went the final 4:08 of the third quarter without a field goal. North Little Rock (19-2, 6-1) scored 12 consecutive points, taking its first lead of the game -- 45-42 -- on Tucker's three-pointer with 41 seconds left in the quarter.
Jordan Greenwood, who led Central with 18 points, connected on a three-point play and a two-pointer in the first 92 seconds of the fourth quarter to push the Lady Tigers back on top 48-45, but the Lady Tigers went the next 5:14 without scoring a point.
Central was 9 of 23 shooting in the second half and finished 22 of 51. NLR also finished 22 of 51, but was 8 of 13 on three-pointers.
"When North Little Rock went to their press, we threw the ball away a few times," Central Coach Michael Green said. "Offensively, we became stagnant and we weren't moving the ball or attacking the basket. We stopped making shots and they started making shots."
Abigayle Jackson, Bre'Amber Scott and Eyrn Barnum all scored 12 points for Central. Barnum grabbed 11 rebounds.
The two teams will meet again at North Little Rock on Friday.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK (65)
Neal 1 1-2 3, Hawkison 4 6-6 17, Brown 2 2-5 6, Morris 5 2-5 12, Sadler 0 0-0 0, Tucker 4 2-2 11, Tillman 6 0-0 16. Totals 22 13-20 65.
CENTRAL (56)
A. Jackson 6 0-0 12, Hall 1 0-0 2, Perry 0 0-0 0, Scott 5 0-2 12, Barnum 4 4-6 12, Greenwood 6 5-9 18. Totals 22 9-17 56.
NLR (19-2) 13 13 19 20 -- 65
Central (18-1) 18 15 10 13 -- 56
Three-point goals -- NLR 8 (Tillman 4, Hawkison 3, Tucker); Central 3 (Scott 2, Greenwood). Team fouls -- NLR 15, Central 17. Fouled out -- Tucker; A. Jackson.
Sports on 02/01/2017