NLR clamps down

North Little Rock forced Springdale into to bad habits Friday afternoon as the Lady Charging Wildcats moved into the quarterfinals with a 69-54 victory at Springdale Har-Ber High School. North Little Rock, the No. 2 seed from the 7A-East, forced Springdale into 22 turnovers and several missed shots from close range.

SPRINGDALE — Turnovers and missed shots around the rim were some of Springdale’s main issues during an up-and-down regular season.

They also were the key culprits Friday in the Lady Bulldogs’ season-ending loss in the opening round of the Class 7A girls basketball state tournament.

Springdale turned over the ball 22 times and struggled again to finish at the rim as North Little Rock rolled to a 69-54 victory to advance to the quarterfinals, where the Lady Charging Wildcats (253) will face No. 1 seed Fort Smith Northside (27-1) at 4 p.m. today.

“I felt like it was a reflection of our season at times,” Springdale Coach Heather Hunsucker said. “We would follow the game plan, we would do the things that we were supposed to, and then there were moments when all that went away.”

North Little Rock forced the Lady Bulldogs (13-15) into 11 turnovers in the first quarter and 15 in the first half as Springdale fell behind quickly. When Springdale didn’t turn it over, the Lady Bulldogs often missed multiple looks from close range.

North Little Rock led 33-21 going into halftime and was up by double digits for the entire second half, stretching the lead to as much as 23 on its way to a convincing victory.

“We’d been laid up in a hotel room for a while, and to come out and play with that kind of energy was good,” North Little Rock Coach Daryl Fimple said. “We got to rest some people, too, which helps. I thought we got the first-game jitters out.”

Springdale mostly neutralized North Little Rock’s size advantage inside, but it didn’t have an answer for Kyra Collier or the Lady Wildcats’ ability to force turnovers. Collier scored a game-high 20 points, and the Lady Wildcats never trailed after an early 6-4 deficit.

North Little Rock opened the second half with a quick 8-2 run to effectively put the game out of reach.

Springdale never pulled closer than 14 the rest of the way.

Chasidee Owens scored a team-high 18 points for Springdale, and Desiree Mack added 12 points and 15 rebounds.

NWA Democrat-Gazette/JASON IVESTER North Little Rock junior Kyra Collier (left) tries to work her way to the basket during Friday’s game against Springdale at the Class 7A state tournament at Springdale Har-Ber High School. Collier scored 20 points to lead North Little Rock to a 69-54...