ROGERS -- In Class 6A girls basketball, the 6A-Central left no doubt which conference is the best.
Thanks to a tenacious defensive effort, defending state champion North Little Rock shut down Springdale Har-Ber 66-41 in the Class 6A quarterfinals Friday night at Mountie Arena.
The 6A semifinals today are an all-Central affair. Conway faces Little Rock Central at noon, while Cabot meets North Little Rock at 6 p.m.
This is the second time in six years that the 6A-Central has claimed all four semifinal spots, the last being in 2018. Not since the halcyon days of the old AAAAA-West in the early 2000s has one conference claimed all four semifinal spots.
North Little Rock (25-5) forced 18 turnovers in the first three quarters to build a 20-point lead to earn the quarterfinal victory.
"The defense is what we hang our hat on," North Little Rock Coach Daryl Fimple said. "We only give up 45 points a night."
After North Little Rock used a late spurt to build a 30-22 halftime lead, the Lady Charging Wildcats forced seven turnovers on Har-Ber's first eight possessions and suddenly the lead was 38-22 in less than three minutes of the third quarter.
"They have two primary ball handlers and we wanted to make it tough on them ... and we did," Fimple said. "We wanted to put a lot of pressure and wear them down."
Jocelyn Tate scored 12 points in the third quarter on perfect shooting -- 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line -- as North Little Rock outscored Har-Ber 23-11 to open up a commanding 53-33 lead.
"I love defense. It gets me going every night," Tate said. "We wanted to pressure them more (in the second half) and stop the wide-open 3-pointers. It was big to get those stops early because they still were in the game."
April Edwards paced four North Little Rock players in double-figures with 14 points, while Tate finished with 13, Garin Freeman scored 12 and Jamiya Brown added 10.
Though the pressure defense put the game away, it was the game-long defensive effort by Freeman on Pacious McDaniel, Har-Ber's leading scorer. Though a 5-6 point guard, Freeman led the effort to limit the 5-10 McDaniel, who scored 31 points in Wednesday's first-round win, to just 15 points.
Delaney Roller scored 13 points for Har-Ber (20-9), 10 in the first half to keep the Lady Wildcats in the game.
Fimple said his team will need that defensive effort against Cabot today, which beat the Lady Charging Wildcats 51-50 on Feb. 23.
"There is not a lot I'll have to say to get ready for this game," Fimple added. "You win and you get a big ticket [sending you to the state finals]. This is what they have battled all year for -- a chance to get back and win it again."
CABOT 60, BENTONVILLE 45
The Lady Panthers (22-6), the 6A-Central's fourth seed, moved into the 6A state semifinal with an impressive win over the 6A-West top-seeded Lady Tigers (24-7).
Cabot dominated the game from the start, leading 22-11 after a quarter. Brenlee Leonard scored consecutive baskets to give the Lady Panthers its biggest lead of the first half at 30-13 before settling for a 34-20 halftime advantage.
Cabot outscored Bentonville 14-10 in the third quarter to get comfortably ahead 48-30 going into the final 8 minutes.
Blyss Miller and Jaycie Cook each scored 14 points to lead Cabot, which had four girls in double figures. Jenna Cook contributed 14 while Samantha Taylor added 11.
Abbey Kate Sanders' game-high 16 points paced Bentonville, while Sam Rhuda followed with 15.