CONWAY -- No. 2 Conway was without a main cog in its starting lineup Friday night, but freshman Jaiden Thomas made sure the Lady Wampus Cats did not turn in a sluggish performance.
Thomas scored 32 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and made 6 steals as Conway pounced on Cabot for a 73-48 victory in 6A-Central Conference play at Buzz Bolding Arena.
Conway (22-3, 9-1) played without senior Asiyha Smith, who suffered a knee injury in Tuesday's victory at North Little Rock, but Thomas picked up the slack, hitting 6 of the Lady Wampus Cats' 13 three-pointers.
"Mark this down, it is all hard work on her part," Conway Coach Ashley Hutchcraft said. "Her and (sophomore) Jenna McMillen are the last people to leave here every day. I have to run them out of the gym. They are true gym rats."
Cabot (13-8, 4-6) hit its first four field-goal attempts while Conway missed its first five, but four first-quarter steals to go along with a 5 of 9 performance on three-point shots allowed the home team to grab a 23-16 lead after the first quarter.
The Lady Panthers clawed back to within four late in the first half, but two late baskets from Thomas allowed Conway to take a 34-26 lead into halftime. Thomas scored nine points and collected five rebounds in the third quarter as the Lady Wampus Cats' lead ballooned to 53-36 by the end of the third quarter.
"She plays with a sense of confidence on both ends of the floor," Hutchcraft said. "She's had some big moments this year but I think this one is really going to help us going into the end of conference and into the playoffs."
Junior Hannah Ogilvie kept Cabot in the contest, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds in the first half. The 6-0 center finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Emily Belin added eight points and seven rebounds.
Conway senior guard Myia Yelder scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half. McMillen hit 3 three-pointers -- all in the second half -- to finish with nine points. Junior Jadah Pickens was held to 6 points, but she did come up with 5 steals and 8 rebounds.
Sports on 02/09/2019