Conway, NLR set for title date
CONWAY 66, LR CENTRAL 38
ROGERS — With all four teams in the Class 6A state tournament semifinals coming from the 6A-Central Conference, third meetings were evident and will be the same for the state championship game.
Conway and North Little Rock will now meet for the third time at noon Friday in Hot Springs after posting wins in rubber matches against league foes Saturday in Mountie Arena. Conway dominated Little Rock Central with a 66-38 rout while North Little Rock rallied in the final 5 minutes to take a 60-54 victory over Cabot.
CONWAY 66, LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 38
Conway started inside then went outside to defeat Little Rock Central on Saturday.
Senior center Savannah Scott scored eight of her 14 points in the first quarter and Conway rolled to a 66-38 victory over Central in the semifinals of the Class 6A state tournament at Mountie Arena. Guards Samyah Jordan and Kamille Brown combined for 29 points with Jordan leading the way for Conway with 16 points and Brown contributing 13.
The 6A-Central rivals split during conference play with both teams winning at home, 61-59 for Central on Jan. 17 and 68-39 for Conway on Feb. 14. Conway again was clearly the better team on the neutral court at Rogers and the Wampus Cats were rewarded with a chance to play for a state championship after being eliminated by Central in the quarterfinals of last year’s state tournament at Little Rock Southwest.
“We’ve been talking about that [loss] since last year and about peaking at the right time,” Conway coach Ashley Hutchcraft said. “We had a little come to Jesus meeting, so when you run a lot things tend to change. I’m super proud of all of them.”
Conway began the game by pounding the ball inside to Scott, a 6-4 center who has signed collegiately with Auburn. Scott’s effectiveness with the defense sagging down loosened up the perimeter and Conway began firing away with a combined six three-pointers in the first half from three different players.
Kamille Lee made consecutive three-pointers followed with another three from Samyah Jordan to give Conway a 35-20 lead in the second quarter. Scott scored on three consecutive trips down the court to assert inside dominance in the first quarter.
“Savannah looked like an SEC post player today,” Ashcroft said of Scott. “When she’s doing that, it makes the outside shots so much easier.”
Jordan Marshall, who scored 31 points in a second-round win over Fayetteville, finished with 15 points to lead Central against Conway on Saturday.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 60, CABOT 54
The calendar may read March, but April arrived for North Little Rock — and just in time.
Senior guard April Edwards scored 11 points during a 15-0 run as the Lady Charging Wildcats rallied past Cabot and earned a repeat trip to the state championship.
“We couldn’t lose,” Edwards said. “I didn’t want us to lose; our team didn’t want to lose. I just wanted to put it on for everybody back in North Little Rock and our whole team, and we got the job done. It felt amazing.
“I felt like nobody could stop me, so I trusted in myself. I just went in there and took it, and my coach trusted me. He put the ball in my hands, and I delivered.”
Cabot (23-6) owned a 49-41 lead on Jayce Cook’s three-point play with 5:19 remaining when North Little Rock (26-5) began its comeback. Madison Hatley, Jocelyn Tate and Garin Freeman each hit a bucket to pull the Lady Charging Wildcats with two, then they got the ball back after Freeman missed a free throw to complete a threepoint play.
That’s when Freeman took over. She was fouled on the inbound pass and hit both free throws to tie the game at 4747 at the 3:46 mark, then her three-point play to put North Little Rock ahead for good before scoring six more points and making it a 58-49 game with under a minute to play.
“She’s an amazing kid,” North Little Rock Coach Daryl Fimple said of Edwards, who finished with 29 points. “We challenged them at halftime, and our seniors stayed back there. We left them alone, and whatever they said worked.
“We had some foul trouble with Garin and Jocelyn out, and April put it on her shoulders. She made some huge plays — huge plays. That’s what you expect from a senior. She’s been there before, and to step up on this stage was awesome.”
Tate was the only other North Little Rock player in double figures with 15 points, but most of them came before she picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter and had to sit for a period.
Jenna Cook had 20 points and Jaycie Cook 12 for Cabot, which went almost 5 minutes without scoring while North Little Rock went on its run.