With time running out in the first quarter of Thursday’s Taco Bell Tournament of Champions opener, Northside’s Jersey Wolfenbarger launched a 3-pointer.

It hit nothing but net.

But right before the ball landed squarely through the hoop, officials waved the basket off due to a malfunction with the 35-second shot clock that was brought in for the tournament. So the Lady Bears had to replay the possession.

No matter, as Wolfenbarger got the ball again and launched another 3-pointer from the corner, which hit nothing but net. And this time, it counted.

That repeat shot highlighted a 13-0 run as the Lady Bears, the defending Arkansas 6A state champions, broke the game wide open in the second quarter against Howe, the defending Oklahoma 2A state champions.

Northside went on to a 75-38 win at Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse.

“It was a good win; Howe’s a great team,” Northside coach Rickey Smith said. “They played us nip and tuck there through the first period and then, all of a sudden, Quineisha Tillery comes in off the bench, we go full-court man and then Tracey (Bershers) gets hot and Jersey makes some unbelievable passes.

“Just in the blink of an eye, we bust it open and I thought we were still looking pretty good. Very proud of that win.”

The Lady Bears (5-1) advance to Friday’s ToC semifinals, set for 7 p.m. They will face Classen SAS (Okla.), which defeated Van Buren late Thursday night.

Early on in Thursday’s contest, Howe (6-1) was holding its own against the powerful Lady Bears.

The Lady Lions overcame a deficit to take a lead. They also went up 11-9 with three minutes to go in the opening quarter.

But Northside took over from there, starting with its pivotal 13-0 surge. Wolfenbarger’s 3-pointer to beat the first-quarter buzzer gave the Lady Bears a 20-11 lead; then Kayla Flemming opened the second quarter by making two free throws to cap the run.

Northside was far from done, however.

Behind three 3-pointers from Bershers, the Lady Bears’ lead grew to 22 points, 40-18. Northside went on to a 45-20 halftime lead.

Bershers then hit two more 3's in the third quarter, as Northside built a 62-27 advantage.


The Lady Bears then took a 40-point lead in the final quarter, 73-33, when Flemming knocked down a 3.

“I’m very proud of them,” Smith said. “It was a humbling experience last weekend (when Northside lost in the finals of a tournament in Norman, Okla.), so the kids came back and worked hard.

“You get beat, you go to work, and so we did. ... I thought defensively, we were pretty active and I was very proud of the other players. It was a good quality win.”

Northside ended up making 51% of its field-goal attempts (28-of-55), and had a 32-4 edge on points off turnovers as Northside forced 20 turnovers. The Lady Bears also hit nine 3's in the win.

Bershers finished with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She also went 5-of-6 from 3-point range and made all three of her free-throw attempts along with recording a double-double of 10 rebounds.

Wolfenbarger added 17 points and made two 3's, going 7-of-14 from the field. She also had five assists. Tillery scored 12 points as well, making all five of her field-goal attempts.

Kayley Turner had nine points to lead Howe, which will play in the consolation round at 4 p.m. Friday against Van Buren.
