Fort Smith Northside’s Jersey Wolfenbarger goes to the line against North Little Rock in the Class 6A girls state semifinals. Northside won the game, 53-46, as Wolfenbarger made both free throws.
The third time wasn’t the charm for North Little Rock as the season ended on Saturday morning with a, 53-46, loss to Fort Smith Northside in the semifinals of the 6A Girls State Tournament.
Conference rivals, this was the third time the two teams have played and Northside won all three matchups.
North Little Rock (19-9) got down early in a big way, as Northside was up, 21-5, at the end of the first quarter. Things picked up in the second quarter for North Little Rock as the defensive intensity picked up while more shots started to fall, and at the half, it was Northside 32, North Little Rock 20.
After a back and forth third quarter, the game turned tight in the fourth quarter when North Little Rock’s Arin Freeman went to the basket and hit the layup to tie the game up at 46-46 with 3:50 remaining. Freeman finished with 19 points in the loss to lead all scorers.
It was the last points North Little Rock would score in the game and Northside hit seven of eight free throws in the final three minutes to set the winning margin. Northside’s Jersey Wolfenbarger, a McDonald’s All-American and Arkansas signee, finished with 14 points, while teammate Tracey Bershers, who is headed to Oklahoma State, added 13.
The 46 points was one of North Little Rock’s lowest offensive outputs of the season, as Daryl Fimple’s team came into the game averaging 62 points a contest.
Northside (25-2) moves on to the 6A state championship game against the winner of Conway/Fayetteville at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 18 at Hot Springs.
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North Little Rock falls to Northside in semifinals
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The third time wasn’t the charm for North Little Rock as the season ended on Saturday morning with a, 53-46, loss to Fort Smith Northside in the semifinals of the 6A Girls State Tournament.
Conference rivals, this was the third time the two teams have played and Northside won all three matchups.
North Little Rock (19-9) got down early in a big way, as Northside was up, 21-5, at the end of the first quarter. Things picked up in the second quarter for North Little Rock as the defensive intensity picked up while more shots started to fall, and at the half, it was Northside 32, North Little Rock 20.
After a back and forth third quarter, the game turned tight in the fourth quarter when North Little Rock’s Arin Freeman went to the basket and hit the layup to tie the game up at 46-46 with 3:50 remaining. Freeman finished with 19 points in the loss to lead all scorers.
It was the last points North Little Rock would score in the game and Northside hit seven of eight free throws in the final three minutes to set the winning margin. Northside’s Jersey Wolfenbarger, a McDonald’s All-American and Arkansas signee, finished with 14 points, while teammate Tracey Bershers, who is headed to Oklahoma State, added 13.
The 46 points was one of North Little Rock’s lowest offensive outputs of the season, as Daryl Fimple’s team came into the game averaging 62 points a contest.
Northside (25-2) moves on to the 6A state championship game against the winner of Conway/Fayetteville at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 18 at Hot Springs.
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