VIDEO, PHOTOS: Fort Smith Northside's girls whip Conway, take 6A-Central lead

Fort Smith Northside's Jazzlyn Coleman (right) takes a shot in the lane Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, as Conway's Haylee Malcum defends during the first half in Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse at Northside High School in Fort Smith. Visit nwaonline.com/prepbball/ for a gallery of photographs from the game. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Fort Smith Northside's Jazzlyn Coleman (right) takes a shot in the lane Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, as Conway's Haylee Malcum defends during the first half in Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse at Northside High School in Fort Smith. Visit nwaonline.com/prepbball/ for a gallery of photographs from the game. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)

FORT SMITH -- Conway's fast start meant Fort Smith Northside's girls couldn't wait for halftime to make any necessary adjustments Tuesday night.

The Lady Bears used a strong second quarter to bounce back from a nine-point deficit and took sole possession of first place in the 6A-Central Conference standings with a 75-56 victory over the Lady Wampus Cats in Kaundart-Grizzly Field House.

"Conway started out hot and shot the ball really well," Northside coach Rickey Smith said. "They hit two or three, and you just turn around, look at your bench and shake your head and say 'Wow.'

"We were a little flustered at first. We really were, and give Conway credit with their speed and quickness and transition basketball. We made a few turnovers, and they were the aggressors. We were passive."

[Don't see the video above? Click here to hear Coach Rickey Smith's post-game remarks as well as highlights from each quarter of the game.]

Freshman guard Chloe Clardy hit consecutive 3-pointers in the final minute to give Conway (14-4, 3-1) a 23-16 lead after one quarter, and the Lady'Cats picked up a bucket by freshman post Savannah Scott to start the second quarter with a nine-point cushion. Northside (15-3, 4-0) went on a 15-3 run and claimed a 31-28 lead on Jersey Wolfenbarger's bucket with 2 minutes, 55 seconds before halftime.

Clardy, who finished with a game-high 31 points, hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at the 2:20 mark, but Northside picked up buckets by Jazzlyn Coleman and Hatianna Releford and took the lead for good before Clardy scored again to make it a 35-33 game at halftime. The Lady Bears started the second half with a 14-3 run -- eight of those points by Releford -- and extended their lead to 49-38, and the lead didn't drop below eight points again.

"We switched defenses a little bit -- just to slow them down -- and it did," Smith said. "It slowed down the pace a little bit and gave us time to catch our breath, then we went back to our man-to-man.

"We got hot and started shooting the basketball a little bit better. Jersey handled the ball a little bit and scored a lot of points, and Hatianna Releford was really aggressive, attacking and slashing across the middle. Tracey Bershers was spotting up and shooting it, and she can shoot it."

Wolfenbarger had 25 points to lead four Northside players in double figures, followed by Releford with 20, Bershers with 17 and Coleman with 11. Clardy was the only Conway player in double figures.

[Don't see the gallery above? Click here to view photos from the game.]

Conway 23 10 16 7 -- 56

FS Northside 16 19 22 18 -- 75

Conway (14-4, 3-1): Clardy 31, York 8, Scott 6, Pickens 6, Rector 3, Malcum 2.

FS Northside (15-3, 4-0): Wolfenbarger 25, Releford 20, Bershers 17, Coleman 11, West 2.

Bentonville High 58, Van Buren 31

Bentonville jumped out to a 17-2 lead in the first quarter and rolled past Van Buren during Tuesday's makeup game between the two 6A-West teams in Tiger Arena.

Maryam Dauda scored 21 points and was the only player in double figures for the Lady Tigers (15-1, 4-0), who led 32-13 at halftime and went on a 17-6 run in the third quarter for a 49-19 cushion.

Kannady had 12 points to lead Van Buren (6-11, 0-4)

Boys

Fort Smith Northside 54, Conway 51 (OT)

Jacob Joe's 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds remaining in overtime gave Northside a win over Conway and kept the Grizzlies unbeaten in 6A-Central play.

Conway (12-4, 2-2) had tied the game on Lucas Foster's three-point play with 31.7 seconds remaining, but Northside (14-4, 4-0) worked it around to Joe, who drilled his shot from the left corner. The Wampus Cats then missed a running jumper -- a two-point try that wouldn't have tied the game -- at the buzzer expired.

Northside had a 46-41 lead after Jaylin Williams' three-point play with 1:53 left in regulation, but Conway tied it on a Foster 3-pointer and Caleb London's bucket with 18 seconds left. Northside's attempt to win the game was blocked as time expired.

Williams finished with 23 points to lead Northside, followed by Noah Gordon with 13 and Joe with 10. Foster finished with 16 points to lead three Conway players in double figures as London added 14 and Trey Tull chipped in 11.

Conway 11 13 13 9 5 -- 51

FS Northside 19 12 4 11 8 -- 54

Conway (12-4, 2-2): Foster 16, London 14, Tull 11, Spencer 4, Boyd 3, Easley 2, Williams 1.

FS Northside (14-4, 4-0): Williams 23, Gordon 13, Joe 10, Owens 4, Thorne 2, McKinley 2.

Bentonville 57, Van Buren 41

Colton Simmons scored 22 points in the second half to fuel a Bentonville comeback as the Tigers defeated Van Buren in a makeup 6A-West Conference game in Tiger Arena.

Bentonville (11-5, 2-2) trailed 20-18 at halftime but outscored Van Buren (6-10, 0-4) 15-10 in the third quarter for a 33-30 lead. The Tigers then secured the win by outscoring the Pointers 24-14 in the fourth quarter.

Simmons finished with 33 points and was Bentonville's only player in double figures, while Gary Phillips led Van Buren with 18 points.

Preps Sports on 01/22/2020

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