By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills girls basketball team dropped to 1-2 Saturday with a hard-fought loss to Forrest City in the Heavenly Hoops Classic hosted by Mount St. Mary at the UALR Fieldhouse.
The game’s result gave the Lady Mustangs fifth place in the tournament and left the Lady Bears with sixth.
Two Lady Mustang players finished with double-doubles while three players finished in double figures.
Fareedah Washington led the way with 16 points and 12 rebounds while Cassandra Jackson added 11 points and 11 boards. Kesha Stovall finished with 10 points and four rebounds and had three blocked shots.
LaShunda Rogers added five points and grabbed nine rebounds. It took the team a half to get their game going.
“We came out real sluggish and just didn‚t look like we wanted to be there,” said Lady Mustang Coach Jackie England.
Indeed, Sylvan Hills led 14-13 after one period but Forrest City rallied just enough in the second period to claim a 23-20 lead at the half.
Things picked up quite a bit for the Lady Mustangs in the second half.
The Lady Bears regained the advantage after three periods, leading 28-27 before Forrest City closed the game by outscoring Sylvan Hills 16-10 in the fourth period.
“Sylvan Hills is quicker than us,” England said. “Not as big as we are, but quicker. They are a much better team than they were a year ago.”
The game was knotted at 38-38 with 1:20 left to play. Forrest City dropped in three out of four free throws in the final 30 seconds to put the game away.
“Sylvan Hills never quit and we never lost our composure late in the game,” England said. “We found a way to end the game the way we wanted to end it.”
The two teams will meet twice more in AAAAA-East Conference play.
In the seventh-place game, Jackson-ville beat crosstown rival North Pulaski 57-46 for its first win of the season. North Pulaski dropped to 0-3, but played the whole tournament without two key players, and played its last two games without three of its projected starters.
Jacksonville was led by Tarneshia Scott and Morgan Waits, who each scored 18 points for the Lady Devils.
Neisha Ridgeway and Jessica Carter led the Lady Falcons with 11 points apiece.
The two teams will meet again on December 5 to make up what was supposed to be the season opener for both teams on Nov. 11. That game was rescheduled because Jacksonville’s football playoff game schedule conflicted with the game.
Mount St. Mary won the tournament by beating Russell-ville 51-46 in the final.
The third-place game pitted two AAAAA-South teams against each other, and it was Watson Chapel coming out on top of El Dorado. Jacksonville hosted North Little Rock in its home opener last night after Leader deadlines.
The Lady Falcons played at Little Rock Central Tuesday night, and won’t open at home until the return game with Central on Dec. 13. NP will be in the CAC tournament next week. Look for details of Tuesday’s Jacksonville and North Pulaski games in Saturday’s edition of The Leader.
