North Little Rock wins in five overtimes

NORTH LITTLE ROCK 80, FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 74

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Kennady Tucker faced her share of ups and downs Friday night, but after 2 hours and 10 minutes of grueling action, her night ended on a high note.

Tucker came up with a key steal and was 6 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 1 minute, 21 seconds of the fifth overtime in helping No. 2 North Little Rock turn back No. 3 Fort Smith Northside 80-74 in an action- packed 7A- Central game at the Charging Wildcats’ arena.

North Little Rock ( 143, 3- 1) overcame a 34- 23 third-quarter deficit and a 5527 rebounding disadvantage to hand the Lady Bears their first conference loss.

“We’re 1-0 in five-overtime games,” North Little Rock coach Daryl Fimple said.

Northside (15-2, 3-1) held a lead in every overtime period except the last one. The Lady Bears led by four points in the second OT and held leads of three points in both the third and fourth OTs.

The game featured 22 3-pointers and only one player — Northside’s 6-foot junior Sara Bershers (27 points, 7 rebounds) — fouled out.

“I saw a lot of bright things, but I also saw a lot of youth and inexperience,” Northside coach Rickey Smith said. “We had a lot of critical turnovers late. We had every opportunity to win it two or three times. They had every opportunity to win it three or four times.

“You just saw when it went into that fifth overtime that both teams were exhausted. And I was really concerned who would get that first basket.”

North Little Rock never got a basket in the fifth overtime, as all 11 of the Lady Charging Wildcats’ points came from the free-throw line.

Senior post player Yo’Myris Morris hit 1 of 2 free throws with 2:22 to play to put the Lady Charging Wildcats up for good at 72-71. Tucker scored the game’s next four points, and Northside was never any closer than three points the rest of the way.

“I think of myself as a pretty clutch free-throw shooter,” said Tucker, a 5-11 junior. “I went up there and shot like I knew how to shoot.”

Tucker, along with teammates Amber Hawkison and Demyla Brown, scored 18 points. Tucker scored 12 of her points in the overtimes. She started the first overtime with a 3-pointer but missed two other long-range shots later in the first overtime that could have sealed North Little Rock’s victory.

“She’s coming off an injury, and she’s not in the greatest shape of her life,” Fimple said. “She’s struggled from a mental standpoint more than anything else. But I think the switch finally came on for her.”

“It’s good getting back into it since I’ve been out for so long,” Tucker said.