Conway prevails as lead shrinks in 4th

CONWAY -- The Conway Lady Wampus Cats survived and advanced to 4-0 in the 7A-Central Conference thanks to their performance at the free-throw line in the final three minutes Friday against Little Rock Central. Conway, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's No. 1 overall team, earned a 64-55 victory over Little Rock Central at Buzz Bolding Arena in a game where it led by 22 points at the start of the fourth quarter, but held off the Lady Tigers down the stretch. The Lady Wampus Cats (17-1) led 53-31 at the end of the third quarter. But the Lady Tigers went on a 21-2 run and freshman guard Elyse Smith's layup cut the lead to 55-52 with 3:02 remaining. That was as close as the Lady Tigers would get, as the Lady Wampus Cats finished 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Jadah Pickens made four of Conway's nine free throws. Junior guard Myia Yelder led Conway with 17 points. Senior guard Alyssa Netherlain had 12 points and junior guard Asiyah Smith added 11 points. The Lady Wampus Cats made 11 three-pointers, including nine in the first half that led to a 37-25 halftime advantage. Conway Coach Ashley Nance told her team before the fourth quarter to not let the momentum shift. Little Rock Central, though, pulled closer and gave Conway all it could handle. "Sure, I would have loved to have won by 20-plus," Nance said. "But in the big picture tonight, we got better by making fourth-quarter free throws. Our sub, Jadah Pickens, came in as a sophomore and handled that pressure in that atmosphere." Senior forward Erynn Barnum scored 17 points to lead Little Rock Central (11-6, 2-3). Elyse Smith finished with 11 points and junior guard Ariyanna Hall added 10 points. Lady Tigers Coach Michael Green said he believes his team's comeback could help them as the 7A-Central season goes on. "Being down and coming back the way we did, it showed me what this team was about," Green said. "When it's all said and done, we'll be there in the end." The Lady Wampus Cats jumped out to a 9-2 lead with 6:18 left in the first quarter. Central cut the lead to 18-15, but Yelder's three-pointer as time expired at the end of the first quarter extended Conway's lead to 23-15. Conway hit 3 three-pointers in the first three minutes of the second quarter to stretch its advantage to 32-15. The Lady Tigers went on a 10-0 run to pull within 33-25 with 1:07 left in the first half. However, the Lady Wampus Cats got consecutive baskets from Asiyah Smith to extend their lead to 37-25.

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CONWAY PREVAILS AS LEAD SHRINKS IN 4TH

JEREMY MUCK

Arkansas Online | 1/20/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Conway Athletics