Spring forward with basketball tidbits

The days seem to run together when you’re covering a state tournament all week, especially when you fall backward instead of spring forward in accordance with today’s calendar.

That’s my excuse anyway for a segmented version of our weekly visit.

NORTHSIDE AWAKENS FROM SLUMBER

Basketball coaches say repeatedly that no matter how good their team is, the first game in the state tournament can often be the most difficult.

That’s understandable, especially with added pressure and the firstgame jitters associated with the big stage that is the state tournament. The Northside girls were sluggish on Thursday at the Class 6A state tournament in Fayetteville, but still won 68-48 after trailing Springdale Har-Ber 13-12 in the first half.

There was no hesitation in Northside on Saturday when the Lady Bears jumped to leads of 11-1 and 25-5 and eliminated North Little Rock 53-46 in a semifinal game at Bulldog Arena. That fast start was the difference between winning and losing to the Charging Wildcats, who rallied to tie the game 46-46 with 3 minutes, 46 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Northside then scored the final seven points to put the game away.

“They had a different look in their eye and it started at 7:30 this morning during our walk-through,” Northside coach Rickey Smith said of his team’s early turnaround from Thursday. “We played about as well as we could play early.”

Jersey Wolfenbarger, who didn’t make a field goal against Har-Ber until there were 43.5 seconds left in the first half, scored Northside’s first basket against North Little Rock. She finished with 15 points Saturday despite playing with four fouls.

WANDERING WOLF

I remember being disappointed years ago when the star player on our high school team at Grand Rapids (Mich.) Central was bumped from first-team all-state by a sophomore guard from Lansing Everett.

That sophomore was named Ervin Johnson, known better to the basketball world as “Magic” Johnson.

Johnson was a 6-foot-9 guard who helped transform the game with his ability to play guard, forward, or even center. Jersey Wolfenbarger is 6-foot6 and similar in her ability to play wherever she wants. The McDonald’s All-American and University of Arkansas signee often brings the ball up court for Northside before moving easily from the perimeter to the post.

Wolfenbarger didn’t play her best game in the semifinals on Saturday. But Arkansas fans are going to enjoy watching her in a Razorbacks uniform for four years.

HEY, REF!

My friend and co-worker Henry Apple pointed out the irony about a fan who yelled “call it both ways” despite the foul count being 9-9 at the time.

Fans complaining about the officials is a hint things are headed toward normalcy and their voices are indeed a pleasure to hear again. I’ve long tracked the first appearance I hear of “Hey, ref, call it both ways” on a notepad in games I’ve covered and the complain usually occurs within minutes after tip-off.

I hope I’m there when a fan sets the “Hey, ref, call it both ways” record when a foul is called on the first trip down the court.

ARE WE FINISHED YET?

If you enjoy high drama in basketball, then the state finals in 1994 between the Fayetteville and Mountain Home girls has to be high on your list.

The game went into eight overtimes before Fayetteville finally won 75-73 at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock. Cari Tanneberger Humphrey poured in 36 points and grabbed 25 rebounds to lead Fayetteville in the marathon match.

“There are moments in that game I’ll never forget,” Humphrey said during an interview with the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2017. “It’s nothing short of a miracle that I didn’t foul out.”

Mountain Home that year was led by Carrie Satterfield-Eoff, who scored 23 points in the championship game against Fayetteville. Satterfield-Eoff became a basketball referee after she continued her playing career at Arkansas.