Rivalry Game Report: North Little Rock vs LR Central (2/4)

Preview   The Little Rock Central Lady Tigers traveled north across the Arkansas River to play their archrival, the Lady Charging Wildcats of North Little Rock High School. These two teams have already met once this year, with Central winning. But each time they meet, the atmosphere is electric, and the game goes down to the wire.   Recap   In the first quarter, the defenses of the Lady Tigers and the Lady Wildcats were on full display. Multiple turnovers were forced by either side, and shots were heavily contested. Central would end up separating themselves from NLR on the scoreboard, ending the period up 15-8.   The outside shooting for both squads was practically non-existent, with Taylor Day-Davis nailing the lone triple for Central and [player_tooltip player_id='465515' first='Kinley' last='Mears'] making NLR's lone perimeter shot. That would change in the second half, but the primary goal for both teams was to drive hard to the paint, finishing at the rim or heading to the free throw line. In that second quarter, Central was struggling to attack the basket and convert at the line. NLR was excelling, heading into halftime with a 28-22 lead.   Central's shooting woes carried over into the third quarter, but NLR was slowing down after their 20-point second period. The defense was fantastic all game long for both sides, with the Wildcats continuing to force turnovers. However, they could not make shots at the other end.   The Tigers entered the final period down 30-40. The atmosphere was electric, giving the visiting Central team a hard time, but that would not deter them. They had their best quarter of the game, scoring 20. They were suddenly back into the game, stripping ball-handlers and taking the rock to the other end to score. Central had back-to-back and-one opportunities from [player_tooltip player_id='465505' first='Ky' last='Wilson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='467464' first='Chloey-Rei' last='Brown'] which sparked their comeback attempt. The Tigers led at one point, but North Little Rock hit just enough shots to keep Central from pulling ahead.   The game was all knotted up at 50 entering the final 30 seconds. NLR applied significant full-court defensive pressure, but Central found a way to break past it, leading to an open shot. The shot was missed, and North Little Rock had about 11 seconds to work with. I do not know if NLR head coach Daryl Fimple designed the play for [player_tooltip player_id='1090334' first='Lauren' last='Brewster'] to shoot the final shot, but she received the inbounds pass, bobbled it, yet somehow broke free from Central defenders and scored a wide-open layup.   There was only 2 seconds left for Central to shoot a last shot. Since they could not advance the ball, they had to throw up a prayer, which did not fall. North Little Rock successfully defended home court and tied the season series with Central, walking away with the 52-50 victory.   Key Performances from North Little Rock Players    [player_tooltip player_id='1090334' first='Lauren' last='Brewster'] continues to impress with her ability to facilitate NLR's offense. Against Central, however, she came through in the scoring category.   The sophomore point guard finished the night with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Though her teammates struggled to hit shots at times, she still found cutters and fed her bigs down low. Most of Brewster's shots were from mid-range and the interior, and she was fairly inconsistent. Despite that, Brewster was clutch down the stretch.   Brewster's final 5 points gave the Wildcats the shot in the arm they needed in the waning seconds of the game. She shot a triple off the catch on the right wing, watching it fall through without touching the rim. As I mentioned in my recap, Brewster had the ball on NLR's last possession, finding herself wide-open underneath for what would be the game-winning shot.   Not many sophomores can perform under pressure, but [player_tooltip player_id='1090334' first='Lauren' last='Brewster'] showed that she can play her best basketball when the stakes are at their peak.     [player_tooltip player_id='1183249' first='Nia' last='Edwards'] had one of her better games of the season against the Lady Tigers. Though she came off the bench, she provided much-needed offensive assistance.   The junior forward provided 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal on the night. As soon as she checked in and had her first offensive touch, she was ready to attack. She fought through tough Central defense and found ways to score in the paint. At one point, Edwards drove past Central's star post defender and scooped and scored a left-handed layup.   [player_tooltip player_id='1183249' first='Nia' last='Edwards'] fought for rebounds and made nice passes. She also shot well from the charity stripe, going 3/4. North Little Rock does not take an early lead or win this game without her, so I imagine she will receive more minutes in the future.    <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/tag/elicia-shepherd/">[player_tooltip player_id='1060878' first='Elicia' last='Shepherd']</a>- The junior forward was coming off a great game against Bryant where she finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Though she did not repeat those same numbers, Shepherd still made a positive impact. She finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal. She fought hard for positioning in the post, and I do not remember her missing but one shot down low. Regardless of the defense, Shepherd converted in the paint, and she continues to prove to me that she is one of the best finishers in the conference.   [player_tooltip player_id='1180760' first='Mia' last='Hopkins']- Hopkins is one of the better young centers in the 6A classification, and she is an excellent rbeounder and defender. She did not do much damage on the scoreboard, but she did pull down 7 rebounds, recorded 1 assist, and blocked 1 shot. 5 of her 7 rebounds were on the offensive end, providing the Wildcats with plenty of extra offensive opportunities.   <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/jaliyah-white/">[player_tooltip player_id='876332' first='Jaliyah' last='White']</a>- The junior has been a reliable player off the bench for NLR this season. She finished with 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. All 5 of her points were from the free throw line, where she only missed one. She bringing the ball up the floor and faciliating, which is not what we are used to seeing from her. Despite that, she executed well and got her teammates involved.   Key Performances from Little Rock Central Players    [player_tooltip player_id='465505' first='Ky' last='Wilson'] was Central's offensive catalyst for all four quarters. She kept the Tigers in the game, making clutch plays every time she was on the floor.   The senior finished with 22 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. She is usually more active on the glass, but the bulk of her activity was on the scoreboard.   Wilson continuously drove hard to the basket, finishing well at the rim. With Wilson being in attack mode, the Wildcats were forced to foul her more. She ended up shooting 13 free throws, converting 9 of them. Most of her makes came in the fourth quarter.   This was another fantastic performance from [player_tooltip player_id='465505' first='Ky' last='Wilson'], something Central fans have come to expect from her.     [player_tooltip player_id='467464' first='Chloey-Rei' last='Brown'] was the other double-digit scorer for Central. She was consistently solid on the defensive end throughout the game, but her best work on offense came in the second half.   I mentioned that Brown was one of the Central players who scored an and-one in the middle of the fourth, and she ended up making more free throws, finishing 4/5. Brown's evening total was 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.   The point guard also did an incredible job breaking past the NLR press and facilitating the offense.   [player_tooltip player_id='467464' first='Chloey-Rei' last='Brown'] does not make many mistakes, but she also showed some versatile scoring ability, squeaking her way through and knocking down some nice shots in the lane.     The last time [player_tooltip player_id='465535' first='Ameriya' last='Gaston'] faced the Wildcats, she recorded 7 blocks. She did not quite repeat that same effort, but it was offly close.   The senior had a solid all-around game, finishing with 5 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, and 6 blocks. I only recall Gaston getting beat on one offensive possession, every other play ended with the center swatting a shot away.   In addition to her fantastic defense, she crashed the glass hard. Gaston recorded 1 offensive rebound, but she made sure to outrebound everybody on the floor, finishing as the game's leading rebounder.   [player_tooltip player_id='465535' first='Ameriya' last='Gaston'] has played some of her best basketball as of late, and that will be important as Central is eyeing a deep run in the playoffs.    <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/taylor-day-davis/">Taylor Day-Davis</a>- The senior forward had just her first conference game with under double-digit points this season. She recorded 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal against the Charging Wildcats. Day-Davis was one of NLR's focal points on defense, but she was still able to find ways to get open, as she knocked down 1 3-pointer off the catch.   Review   [player_tooltip player_id='465505' first='Ky' last='Wilson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='467464' first='Chloey-Rei' last='Brown'] did most of the work on offense for the Lady Tigers, and Gaston was outstanding on defense. However, it just was not enough. North Little Rock should be feeling very confident as they head into their next matchup against Conway, the #1 team in Arkansas. Little Rock Central is off this Friday, but they are back in action at home against Bryant, looking to sweep that season series.   I expect both of these teams to make it far in the playoffs. Chances are, these teams will see each other again in the postseason.

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