FAYETTEVILLE FALLS IN 3 OVERTIMES

Fort Smith Northside Coach Rickey Smith told Jersey Wolfenbarger that if she made both free throws with nine seconds left in the third overtime, the Lady Bears finally could celebrate a victory in Saturday's Class 6A state girls basketball tournament semifinals. The 6-1 sophomore just smiled, then made both to give her team a four-point lead as the Lady Bears earned a 64-62 triple-overtime victory over Fayetteville at Wolverine Arena. Wolfenbarger's free throws gave Northside a 64-60 lead and made Sasha Goforth's driving layup irrelevant as the Lady Bears held the ball as time ran out. "When Jersey came down the court there, we're up two and her shooting two free throws, she normally puts the dagger in," said Smith, whose team never led in regulation. "I've coached at Northside a long time. I'm just proud of my kids. Next to those state championships, that's about as special as it gets." Northside (27-1) advances to the state finals to face Bentonville at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs next week. The Lady Bears had opportunities to win it at the end of regulation and at the end of the first overtime, but missed potential game-winning shots. Smith was afraid his team might regret those missed chances. "You know we won it, we lost it. We won it. We lost it, so many bumps there that you just don't know what's gonna happen," Smith said. Jazz Coleman hadn't scored until she hit a three-pointer early in the third overtime to give Northside the lead for good, 58-55. The 5-10 junior added two more free throws with 20.4 seconds left to push Northside's lead to three. Senior Sara Bershers, who finished with 20 points and 3 three-pointers, agreed with Smith that the Lady Bears never really played like they are capable, but made enough plays to win. It was Bershers' three-point play with 3:24 left in the first overtime that gave Northside its first lead of the game at 48-45. "Nothing but pure bliss," Bershers said."It's amazing that we get to play another game. We've just gotta go get it done." Wolfenbarger led all scorers with 23 points, while Tracey Bershers chipped in 10. Goforth led Fayetteville (20-5) with 21 points, while Coriah Beck added 19 before fouling out in the third overtime. Freshman Hatianna Releford also contributed 11. Fayetteville Coach Vic Rimmer said Northside did a better job of rebounding late in the game, which was the difference. "The kids were tired," said Rimmer, whose team led by as many as 10 in the first half. "Both teams were tired. Shots weren't falling. It came down to them, they got some offensive rebounds and gave themselves second chances and we weren't able to do that. It was just a matter of they outfought us on the offensive glass."

FAYETTEVILLE FALLS IN 3 OVERTIMES

Photo Credit: Charlie Kaijo

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