GIRLS
TEAM BOYD 75, TEAM KURSH 66
Fun grabs hold of these sorts of games from the start, but it tends to lose its grip late.
Laughs held court through the first three quarters of the All-Metro Classic girls game, then the competitive spirits of Pulaski County's best high school seniors cleared the bench. Team Boyd, coached by eStem assistant coach Crystal Boyd, pulled away in the final minutes for a 75-66 victory over Team Kursh, coached by Jacksonville Coach Marian Kursh, at Pulaski Academy on Tuesday night.
"Games like this are all about the girls," Boyd said. "It doesn't have anything to do with us, the coaches. These girls are fantastic players, but tonight, it's all about fun, just having fun."
Team Boyd took control early to lead 13-2 midway through the first quarter and 35-20 midway through the second, but Team Kursh responded to pull within 58-55 by the end of the third.
At one point early in the fourth quarter, the clock operator let the clock run through a timeout. No one seemed to notice other than Kursh, whose team trailed 60-58 with six minutes left in the game. She turned to the scorer's table.
"Are we just going with a running clock?" she said. "I mean, we'd kind of like a chance to win."
Afterward, Kursh said she had fun throughout.
"I think everyone enjoyed it," she said. "The whole thing was to have fun, so it was completely different from when I'm coaching over at Jacksonville. Toward the end, when that 15 seconds ran off the clock, that had me a little concerned. That could've helped us out in the end, but it was all right."
Little Rock Parkview's Mikayla Alexander hit consecutive three-pointers late in the third quarter to help spark Team Kursh's comeback.
Alexander led all scorers with 18 points, but North Little Rock's Amber Hawkins led Team Boyd with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals and helped her team repel Team Kursh's late run.
A three-point shot by Alexander with four minutes left gave Team Kursh a 66-62 lead, but eStem's Mariah Adams and Hawkins combined for eight points to highlight Team Boyd's 13-0 run to finish the game.
"You never lose that competitive edge as a player or a coach, so it got intense there," Boyd said. "I had to give them a little motivational talk, but I had a fantastic time."
TEAM KURSH (66)
Mikayla Alexander 6 0-0 18, Lainie Ballard 0 0-0 0, Yo'myris Morris 6 4-4 16, Jayla Bell 2 0-0 6, Cedra Dale 1 0-0 2, McKenzie Smith 3 1-2 7, Amber Brooks 2 0-0 5, Alaysa Kelly 1 2-2 5, Shatorria Briggs 1 1-2 3, Adian Phillips 2 0-0 4, Emma Kelly 0 0-0 0, Victoria Best 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 8-10 66.
TEAM BOYD (75)
Mariah Adams 8 0-0 18, Amber Hawkins 6 1-2 14, Erynn Barnum 4 0-0 9, Kayla Johnson 2 0-0 5, Alana Cannady 3 0-0 7, An'nyah Pettus 5 1-2 11, Erin Carbin 1 0-0 2, Jayla King 1 0-1 2, Brooklyn May 0 2-2 2, Adrianenne Chambers 1 3-3 5. Totals 31 7-10 75.
Kursh;14 21 20 11 -- 66
Boyd;24 17 17 17 -- 75
Three-point goals -- Team Kursh 10 (Alexander 6, Bell 2, Brooks, Kelly); Team Boyd 6 (Adams 2, Hawkins, Barnum, Cannady, Johnson). Team fouls -- Team Kursh 6, Team Boyd 9.
Sports on 03/14/2018