Northside excels as whole unit
It took 22 games for Fort Smith Northside to get its full roster on a court together.
A handful of players were out with covid-19 in December, then another group in January. Just when it looked like the Grizzlies would have everyone back, in came the snow, leading to an 11-day layoff between contests.
So it was fitting that in its return to the court, Northside turned in a dominant team effort, routing Little Rock Southwest 70-49 Tuesday night at Gryphon Arena. Jacob Joe led the Grizzlies with 14 points on 3-of-4 shooting from deep, and Jordan Wright added 13 as all but one of the 13 Northside players to play scored at least two points.
The win pushed the Grizzlies back above the .500 mark in the 6A-Central as they jostle with Bryant and Conway for the Nos. 3-5 seeds in the Class 6A state tournament.
“The biggest challenge has been trying to find some continuity with everyone together,” Northside Coach Eric Burnett said. “You have two of your starters here, maybe three of your starters there — it’s just been kind of rough.
“But there are no excuses. Everybody’s been going through it. The most important thing is that we get it together before we go to the state tournament.”
Northside (11-11, 7-6 6A-Central) fell behind 11-5 in the opening 2:35 as the Gryphons got to the lane with ease. Southwest (2-16, 1-11), which was seeking its first win since Jan. 8, knocked down two of its first three shots from deep.
By the opening minute of the second quarter, the Grizzlies took their first lead as sloppy play from the Gryphons led to several transition opportunities.
“At some point in most games, we do things that look like a team that is getting bet- ter,” Southwest Coach Chris Threatt said. “What we did in that first quarter, we’ve done in quarters of every game. But the problem is a drought is coming, and we don’t score well enough to overcome our mistakes.”
After shooting 6 of 15 from the field in the opening stanza, the Gryphons missed 28 of their final 41 field goal attempts. They also scored just 16 points combined in the second and third quarters.
Over that span, Northside dropped 41, including an 11-0 burst in more than four minutes after halftime. That took the Grizzlies’ lead from 31-26 to 42-26.
“Everybody just started picking things up,” Wright said. “I think we are [peaking at the right time] … and everyone’s doing what they need to do so that we can get a win.”
Wright did most of his damage in the opening half, setting the tone for what was to come. The 6-7 senior forward dropped 11 of his 13 before intermission and pulled down a team-best 6 boards to spark Northside’s surge.
“Jordan really carried us,” Burnett said. “We wanted to [capitalize on our size advantage], cover the paint, get easy buckets and when we did penetrate, our guys were there to control the basket.”
“The biggest challenge has been trying to find some continuity with everyone together. You have two of your starters here, maybe three of your starters there — it’s just been kind of rough. But there are no excuses. Everybody’s been going through it. The most important thing is that we get it together before we go to the state tournament.”
Fort Smith Northside Coach Eric Burnett on the challenges his team has faced this season
FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 60, LITTLE ROCK SOUTHWEST 31
On the day she was honored as a McDonald’s All-American, Lady Bears senior Jersey Wolfenbarger showed why she was worthy of the recognition, scoring a game-high 23 points in Northside’s victory. The Arkansas signee dropped a dozen in the opening half as her team raced to a 35-14 lead at the break.
Junior Haitiana Releford added 12 for Northside (22-2, 12-1), which remains atop the 6A-Central standings. Southwest (5-13, 1-10) got all but seven of its points from the duo of Taya Bridgewater and Raven Brown, who finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.