NLR outlasts Cabot, clinches No. 2 seed

North Little Rock turned to its defense on its home floor Thursday against Cabot to earn an extended break at next week’s Class 6A state tournament.

The No. 5 Lady Charging Wildcats held the No. 4 Lady Panthers to two points in the fourth quarter and pranced away to a 51-34 victory in the teams’ regular-season finale.

The win gave North Little Rock (26-4, 10-2 6A-Central) the No. 2 seed from its conference for the state tournament and allowed it to avenge the loss it suffered at Cabot (26-5, 9-3) last month. The 17-point conquest also handed the Lady Charging Wildcats a first-round bye in the Class 6A state tournament that they’ll host, starting Tuesday.

Jocelyn Tate finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Madison Hatley added 10 points and nine rebounds for North Little Rock, which used a 9-2 run over the final four minutes of the second quarter to take a 24-18 lead into halftime.

The Lady Panthers scratched their way back during the third quarter and got within 29-28 with 3:24 to go after a three-pointer from Jenna Cook. That bucket, however, would turn out to be the last one for Cabot until late in the game.

Cabot missed its next 13 shots, including its first 10 attempts of the fourth quarter. The Lady Charging Wildcats would outscore their opponents 22-4 during that stretch to open up a commanding lead.

The Lady Panthers avoided being shut out entirely in the quarter when Jaycie Cook scored on a layup with 10 seconds left in the game.

Kinley Mears added nine points, and Katie Fimple scored eight points for North Little Rock, which held a 31-16 rebounding edge. Jenna Cook finished with 13 points and Jaycie Cook tallied nine points for Cabot.