The Lady Bears ran their current winning streak to seven straight with a decisive win in Friday’s 6A-Central opener.

“Offensively, we were a little flat, we really were,” Northside coach Rickey Smith said. “We missed some easy shots early, but Bryant also gave us trouble last year; same team, they’re quick.

“Not disappointed in the win; when you win by 20 points in the conference, you’ve got to be extremely happy. But I know that we can play a little bit better; we missed some shots, had some turnovers.”

Northside gave up the game’s opening point before taking control with a 9-2 run, capped by a three-point play from Jersey Wolfenbarger. The Lady Bears (12-3, 1-0) then went up by double digits early in the second quarter, 21-10, on a basket from Jalyn Ford.

Late in the first half, Tracey Bershers — making her return after missing the previous two games due to a back injury — hit a 3 pointer; then on the next possession, Eriel West came up with a steal and fed teammate Haitianna Releford for an easy layup, giving Northside a 34-21 lead.


The Lady Bears then extended it to 15 points early in the second half, 39-24, on a 3 from Avery Shelly. They maintained a double-digit advantage from there.

Smith also made it a point to salute the home crowd for coming out for the earlier than usual tip-off time due to the stormy weather conditions.

“How about the crowd (Friday); very good crowd on a stormy night,” Smith said. “I’m just so thankful for Northside fans. ... I’m just very thankful to have fans at Northside High School that come out and support the girls like this.”

Wolfenbarger, who had 33 points in the Lady Bears’ win against Greenwood last Saturday, ended up with 27 points. She had 15 of those in the opening half.

At halftime of the boys game, Wolfenbarger was honored for scoring her 1,000th career point, which came in the win against Greenwood.

Senior Jazz Coleman also hit double figures in Friday’s win for Northside, as Coleman had 11 points.
