Northside girls basketball coach Rickey Smith achieved two milestones in the Lady Bears’ season opener on Tuesday.

One, he began his 25th season at the helm of the Lady Bears. Then, Smith picked up his 600th win at Northside as the Lady Bears led from start to finish in a 66-45 win against Marion at Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse.

“It’s just more about the kids. ... That’s just 1-0 for me,” Smith said.

But the coach was even more reflective on starting a quarter-century guiding the Lady Bears’ program, which has included winning numerous state championships. Smith has another great opportunity at a title as Northside (1-0) enters the season ranked among the top 20 teams nationally in the USA Today and the MaxPreps polls.

“You can go back and look at the history of the coaches in this district in the major sports, basketball and football, I don’t think there’s ever been anybody coaching in the Fort Smith (school) district for 25 years, I’m not sure,” Smith said. “And I’ll tell you, when I came here, I didn’t have the intentions of being here 25 years.

“I just took the job because it was a good job and I was worried about winning that (first) year. ... Fort Smith is home; I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere the rest of my life, so it’s just hard to believe this is my 25th team at Northside, it really is, but I like them. They have a chance to be really special, they really do.”

Northside certainly started the game like the team Smith thinks they have the chance to become.

The Lady Bears scored the game’s first 10 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers from sophomore point guard Jersey Wolfenbarger. They extended their lead to 16-2 before settling for a 19-5 advantage to end the first quarter after sophomore forward Tracey Bershers hit a 3 of her own.

In the second quarter, Northside reeled off 11 straight points, capped by a basket from junior forward Jazz Coleman for a 32-7 advantage.


Northside went on to lead by as many as 30 points late in the first half (41-11) before taking a 41-13 edge into the locker room at the break.

The Lady Bears also held a 30-point lead midway through the third quarter before Marion (5-1), which had already had five games under its belt before Northside had its opener, gradually showed signs of life.

“I really loved the way we played early in the game,” Smith said. “Offensively, we were really in tune; defensively, in tune.

“You go in at halftime and you’re up (by 28) and we relaxed; they came out a lot more intense. ... We’re still not in good enough game shape, I don’t think and we shot some shots that were a little bit out of our offensive flow, but (Marion) is a good basketball club. We’ve just got to find a way to finish.”

Senior forward Sara Bershers, who signed to play at Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Monday, led the Lady Bears with 22 points, which included making a pair of 3's. Wolfenbarger ended up with 21 points, hitting five 3's.

Northside will be back in action on Nov. 29 when the Lady Bears take part in the Great 8 Tournament at Rogers.

Northside 67, Fayetteville 54


BOYS — The Grizzlies continued their recent mastery against Fayetteville as Northside got four players in double figures en route to a decisive win on the road Tuesday.

Northside (1-1) also beat Fayetteville twice last season, including in the 7A semifinals.

In Tuesday’s rematch, the Grizzlies opened up a 22-8 lead and went on to a 37-21 advantage at halftime. Northside also led 52-35 through three quarters.

Javion Releford had 22 points, while Noah Gordon added 14 in the win for Northside. Also for the Grizzlies, Jermualle Norwood scored 11 points, and Jaylin Williams 10 points.

Northside, which was edged 58-56 by Southwest Christian Academy on a game Saturday in North Little Rock, will be back in action on Nov. 29 when the Grizzlies travel to compete at the Arlington (Texas) Tournament.


