WEST MEMPHIS -- The Nettleton girls turned up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter to ensure a 43-31 victory over West Memphis.
The Lady Raiders (25-1, 17-1 6A/5A-3 Conference) held West Memphis (15-12, 9-9) to 2-of-8 shooting in the fourth quarter and forced 6 turnovers.
Nettleton led for all but eight seconds of the game and held a 22-12 advantage at halftime before the Lady Devils came on strong in the second half. Led by senior post player Jayla Sheppard's seven consecutive points to open the second half, West Memphis cut Nettleton's lead to 25-22 after a three-pointer by Taylor Johnson.
On the ensuing trip down the floor Nettleton's Jordan Elder, who led all scorers with 17 points, made a three-pointer and teammate Calia Crippen added a free throw to give the visitors some breathing room.
Nettleton outrebounded West Memphis 25-17 and registered 10 second-chance points.
Mya Love's layup with 1:56 to play in the game gave the Lady Raiders a 39-27 lead.
Dasia Young added seven points for Nettleton while Jakyra Meabon scored five.
Sheppard's 13 points led West Memphis while Johnson tallied eight.
BOYS
NETTLETON 51,WEST MEMPHIS 45
WEST MEMPHIS -- Nettleton sank 19 of 24 free throws and held off West Memphis.
The Raiders (17-10, 11-7 6A/5A-3) made the most of hitting 13 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 6 of 6 in the final minute.
Nettleton led 24-19 at halftime, but the Blue Devils (22-4, 15-3) took a short-lived 30-26 lead on the inside play of freshman Chris Moore, who led his team with 11 points.
But the Raiders got a three-pointer from Malik Anderson, one of four he had on his way to a game-high 22 points, and a layup from point guard Kevin Fulton.
West Memphis' last lead was 39-37 after two free throws from Zachary Byrd, but that signaled the parade of free throws down the stretch by the Raiders.
Nathaniel Anderson who added 11 points for the Raiders, iced the game with two free throws with 19.2 seconds to play to make it 49-43 Nettleton.
Jarquavious Cain scored 8 points for Nettleton.
West Memphis, which only hit 10 of 23 from the free-throw line, got 8 points from Kesley Hubbard and 6 each from Tevin Mosley and Byrd.
Sports on 02/17/2017