LHJH girls roll to 9-0 start

PEARCY — Lake Hamilton’s junior girls rolled to a 53-33 win over Conway White Thursday night at Wolf Arena.

The junior Lady Wolves dominated the opening quarter, taking a 19-7 lead before stretching to a 29-14 halftime buffer.

“I thought we started the game out with a lot of energy and that carried on throughout the game,” said Lake Hamilton head coach Maribeth Richards. “The biggest lull we had was the first two minutes in the third quarter coming out of halftime. Conway cut the 15 point halftime lead to 10 before we got rolling again.”

Lake Hamilton was able to rebound and again stretch its lead, adding 15 to Conway’s 14 for a 44-28 lead going into the final frame.

Hayleigh Wyrick paced the junior Lady Wolves with 15 points on the night. Aspen Thornton added 15.

“Hayleigh Wyrick came out hot tonight scoring 15 of our 19 first quarter points,” Richards said. “She hit three treys in the first quarter along with several buckets in transition. This really set the tone early for the whole game.

“After halftime, Conway came out and really keyed on Hayleigh. Aspen Thornton stepped up for us and scored 11 in the second half to help extend the lead. She also saw the floor really well in the second half, hitting several girls on back cuts in half court offense for several assists.”

Tia Mullenix added six for Lake Hamilton, Ginny Higginbotham had five and Taylor Humphreys two.

“On the defensive end, Tia Mullenix came up huge,” Richards said. “I felt like her on ball pressure gave their guards some problems. Aryn Hughes was big on the boards for us. She also got in a little foul trouble early, but played really smart down the stretch, so we didn’t have to play without her.”

Lake Hamilton (9-0, 5-0 in CAJHC) hosts North Little Rock Monday at Wolf Arena.

Boys

PEARCY — A tie-setting three-point attempt at the buzzer by Lake Hamilton’s Cade Robinson fell short, leaving Conway White with a 36-33 win over the junior Wolves Thursday at Wolf Arena.

The score was knotted at 11-11 after one quarter, and Conway held a three-point lead at the break, 20-17. Both teams added seven in the third and nine in the fourth to keep the three-point spread.

“Turnovers and missed free throws in the fourth quarter really hurt us tonight,” said Lake Hamilton assistant coach Darren Cannon. “With two minutes left in the game we turned the ball over three straight times. We also missed five throws in the fourth quarter.

“That was the difference in the game. We cannot expect to beat a really good Conway team not converting our opportunities down the stretch. They are unbeaten in conference play for a reason.”

The junior Wolves did have a stand-out performance from distance, connecting on six 3-point shots.

“We did have our best shooting game of the season from behind the 3-point line,” Cannon said. “Carson Harris hit three, Cade Robinson two and Austin Hale one. Carson played his best game of the year offensively. He really shot the ball well from the outside, and he did a good job of attacking the basket also.”

Harris paced the junior Wolves with 13 points, Chase Jessup adding seven and Robinson six.

Lake Hamilton (3-5, 2-3 in CAJHC) hosts North Little Rock Monday.

* Lake Hamilton fell 38-27 in the eighth-grade boys game to Conway White.

Robinson led Lake Hamilton with six points. Hayden McDougal and Gavin Robbins each added five.