CENTERTON -- Kelsie Mahone scored Bentonville West's first ever postseason points with a three-pointer for a 3-2 lead. The Lady Wolverines' advantage lasted just 23 seconds.
North Little Rock scored the next 13 points and eliminated the host team 69-40 on Wednesday during the Class 6A girls state tournament in Wolverine Arena.
"Our girls are playing really good right now," North Little Rock Coach Darryl Fimple said. "We knew they had two good offensive players, and we ran bodies at them the entire night.
"We shot the basketball really well. We took good shots and moved the ball around, and we were able to get our post girls involved early. Overall, for a state tournament game, it was good -- really, really good."
North Little Rock (18-9) used a one-two scoring punch of 6-4 freshman Amauri Williams and 5-10 senior Kennady Tucker, combined with sticky pressure defense, to take over the game. Both players scored seven points in the first quarter, with Williams converting a three-point play to put the Lady Charging Wildcats in front for good. Tucker scored the last five points of the first quarter for a 22-7 cushion.
Williams finished with 16 points and Tucker 13 as four players finished in double figures for North Little Rock. Jordyn Neal had 19 for North Little Rock, while Tiona Mackey chipped in 11.
"We're just figuring out that one of our advantages is having her," Fimple said of Williams. "Early on, she would disappear because we wouldn't throw it to her. We've been doing a much better job over the last month of making sure she stays involved.
"That makes her a better defensive player because she gets involved on that end. With her ability to be able to rebound, we can get out in transition better. We can extend the press a little bit and gamble a little bit. She's an advantage, and she's just 14 years old."
Anna Kash had 10 of Bentonville West's first 17 points and finished with 15 to lead the Lady Wolverines, who finish the season 10-18. Shania Wilson added 10.
BRYANT 54, VAN BUREN 35
Kalia Walker scored 34 points to lead Bryant to a comeback victory over Van Buren.
Walker, a senior guard, made six three-pointers for the Lady Hornets, which dominated the second half after trailing 8-0 and 16-8.
Walker and Tierra Trotter opened the second half with three-pointers for Bryant (17-10), which outscored Van Buren (15-13) 26-11 in the third quarter to erase a 22-18 halftime deficit.
Rylee Ryan finished with 10 points to lead Van Buren, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.
Little Rock Central 43, Springdale 36, OT
Little Rock Central scored the first eight points in overtime, and the Lady Tigers completed a sweep by 6A-Central teams.
Central (12-14) held the ball for a minute before Ariyanna Hall scored inside, then Lauren Pendleton and Jordan Greenwood converted steals into layups.
The Lady Tigers led for most of the second half, but Springdale (13-13) strung together seven consecutive points and took a 31-30 lead on Marquesha Davis' bucket with 3:01 remaining. Central then used a Lillian Jackson free throw to tie the game at 31-31 with 2:43 remaining.
Pendleton finished with 11 points and was the only player in double figures for Central.
CLASS 1A AT BROCKWELL
Wonderview 62, Caddo Hills 45
The Lady Daredevils opened up state tournament play with a 17-point victory over the Lady Indians.
Wonderview (31-6) led 15-9 after a quarter, then outscored Caddo Hills (25-12) 22-10 in the second for a 37-19 halftime advantage.
Faith Byers led Wonderview with 20 points, Bailey Wright tallied 17 and Kailey Gullett added 10.
Jaci Vines scored 18 for Caddo Hills.
Rural Special 77, Blevins 56
The Lady Rebels (28-11) raced out to a 42-26 lead at halftime before the Lady Hornets (27-11) started the second half with a 7-0 run to get the deficit to single digits, but Rural Special outscored Blevins 16-6 to finish the third quarter and led by as many as 29 in the fourth.
Kamryn Sutterfield led Rural Special with 26 points while Abby Linville netted 18 and Maddison Kocher added 17.
Amani Furlow led Blevins with 23 points.
Emerson 62, Mount Vernon-Enola 54
The Lady Pirates (31-4) scored the first nine points of the game, led 22-13 at the half and held off two second-half rallies by the Lady Warhawks (28-9).
Lexi Pyle led Emerson with 15 points. Gracie Raby led Mount Vernon-Enola with 24 points.
-- Scott McDonald
Sports on 02/28/2019