Lady Bears finally hit the court
GIRLS
FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 60, BRYANT 42
BRYANT — A crisp opener isn’t what Fort Smith Northside’s girls basketball team got Tuesday against Bryant, but it did leave with what it ultimately came for.
A balanced scoring effort combined with a sweltering effort on defense enabled the Lady Bears to walk out of Hornet Arena with a 60-42 victory.
Erianna Gooden, Cherish Blackmon, Hazley Grotjohn and Isabella Kindrick each had 12 points for Northside (1-0), which was anxious to get on the floor against another team for a change.
“[Bryant] had played four games, and that was our first,” Northside Coach Ricky Smith said. “We’ve been chomping at the bit to play for the last month and a half. Practice has been brutal, we had a benefit game canceled because of the state football playoffs, and we had an open date last week that we tried to fill. So this was our first one.
“I’ve never had a team go this long without playing, and so it took a while for us to get going. But we eventually started to play a lot better as the game went on.”
The Lady Bears trailed just once at 6-4 early in the first quarter but used a quick spurt to establish a margin that they held on to for the final three periods.
Austyn Oholendt had a team-high 17 points for Bryant (3-2), which wasn’t able to get out of its own way for much of the game. The Lady Hornets turned the ball over 23 times, and more times than not, Smith’s team converted.
Northside, which also held a 32-28 rebounding advantage, scored the final nine points of the first quarter, with six coming directly off turnovers, to grab a 13-6 lead despite shooting just 6 of 18 (33.3%) from the field. The Lady Bears matched that same percentage in the second quarter and held a 26-17 edge with 1:54 to go following a long three-pointer from Kindrick — her second of the half — but a free throw from Skylar Percy started an 8-1 push that saw Bryant claw within 27-25 at halftime.
“We had a few defensive breakdowns, and that’s not indicative of the way we want to play,” Smith said. “But Bryant did well. I thought they found open players, shot the ball well and played hard. They’ve got two kids [Oholendt and Brilynn Findley] that can really shoot it, and they continued to fight all game long.”
The Lady Hornets tied it at 27-27 on their first possession of the second half off a bucket by Oholendt before a stickback from Blackmon started a 10-0 run.
“She’s just so athletic,” Smith said of Blackmon, who added eight rebounds and three steals. “Honestly, she’s one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever coached. She’s active around the rim and has a knack for finding the ball. But she’s still learning. … She’s still a baby colt.”
Bryant missed six straight shots during the Lady Bears’ spurt and finally stopped it on a three-pointer from Findley with 1:42 remaining in the third quarter. The Lady Hornets were still within 44-39 with 6:20 to go in the final period following a short jumper by Oholendt, but they didn’t allow themselves to get any closer because of mistakes.
The Lady Bears eventually closed the game on a 16-3 rally.
“It was a good win for us,” Smith said. “I like my team. Erianna is coming off an ankle injury, and she hasn’t gotten back to herself yet, but I think overall, we’ve got some scoring ability.
“And the great thing about our ballclub is that there was only one senior who saw the floor so most of them played as ninth and 10th graders. We took a few licks last year, but hopefully there will be a lot less of those licks this year.”
BOYS
BRYANT 62, FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 50
Kellen Robinson scored 21 points to help Bryant (1-2) take the win.
R.J. Young had 14 points and Camarion Bead added nine points for the Hornets, who led 33-25 at halftime but took advantage of nine third-quarter turnovers by Northside (4-1) and benefited from a 12-2 run to increase their lead to 51-36 by the end of the quarter.
Derek Shepard had 20 points and Marco Smith finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Grizzlies.