You don’t have to remind the Northside Lady Bears who is coming to Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse.

The Lady Bears (16-0, 4-0) are currently in the driver’s seat in the toughest girls basketball conference in the state.

But Northside coach Rickey Smith knows that could change on a dime.

On the heels of Tuesday’s 65-55 win over Conway, a road win no less, the Lady Bears host North Little Rock at 6 p.m. today.

“It was a big win, but we knew going into the week there were two big ballgames,” Smith said prior to Thursday’s practice. “Honestly, this one at home is almost bigger than the road game. We didn’t play great at Conway; we played good.”

Coach Daryl Fimple’s Lady Charging Wildcats are coming off a win over Mount St. Mary, leaving them with a 3-1 conference mark.

The two teams split in 2018.

“North Little Rock, the last two or three years, they’ve been either champions or runner-up,” Smith said. “They have some talent. I have a lot of respect for coach Fimple; they’re a talented team.”

A win today would give Northside a good shot at finishing the first round 7-0 in league play. The Lady Bears travel to Cabot on Tuesday and face crosstown rival Southside next Friday at the Stubblefield Center.

Sophomore Jersey Wolfenbarger leads Northside with 15 points per game. She had 12 points and four rebounds in Tuesday’s win.

Sara Bershers and Tracey Bershers are averaging 11.6 and 9.6 points a game.

Northside senior Tiya Douglas poured in a career-high 27 points in Tuesday’s win over Conway.

Grizzlies

What a difference a week makes.

This time last Monday, the Grizzlies were the toast of the town. Today, however, the Grizzlies are battling for playoff positioning.

Northside (11-7, 2-2) will greet the defending state champion North Little Rock Charging Wildcats today in a key 6A-Central game.


“It’s tough,” Northside coach Eric Burnett said. “To be honest, every time we step on the floor is going to be a tough game this year. Southside’s 0-4, but they can get you. Catholic just knocked us off last week. You have to be ready.”

Northside and North Little Rock have met in the past two state championship games, with Northside winning it all in 2017 and NLR turning the tables last March.

NLR (12-2, 3-1) is coming off a 65-62 overtime win over Catholic.

The Grizzlies lost to Catholic last week, 55-50, and suffered a tough 47-46 loss to Conway on Tuesday night.

In 2017, Northside beat NLR in the 7A finals, avenging two conference losses to the Charging Wildcats that season.

North Little Rock returned the favor in last year’s finals with a 64-51 win over the Grizzlies.

Northside has played three of its first four games on the road, meaning the Grizzlies will get plenty of home love in February.


“That’s going to flip the second half,” Burnett said. “The month of February is what we have to be thinking about it.”

The Grizzlies own road wins over Bryant and Central.

“The two games we won on the road were huge, because those two teams are going to be at the top of the conference,” Burnett said. “We have to take care of business; our backs are against the wall.”
