By Rob Patrick

SHERIDAN — Even at 25-0, the Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team was primed for an upset when they took on the rival Benton Lady Panthers in the second round of the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference on Monday night.

The psychology was ripe.

Bryant had defeated Benton three times this season. No one had played the Lady Hornets tougher than the Lady Panthers did in the first two of those meetings. But, most recently — in fact, just four day before — Bryant had dominated the Lady Panthers on their own floor though that wasn’t the indication based on the 37-25 final score. The Lady Hornets had led 21-2 early in that one.

But with their season on the line in Monday’s tournament game, the Lady Panthers returned to form, jumping to a 10-4 lead and hanging on for a 12-10 edge at the half, just the second time this season that the Lady Hornets had been behind at the break.

But Bryant limited Benton to just 11 more points in the game while ratcheting up the intensity in their press and on offense, surging to a 37-23 win.

By Rob Patrick

You know how some games are closer than the final score indicates? Well, just the opposite was true of Monday’s game between the Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team and the Conway White Wampus Kittens.

The Lady Hornets improved to 11-0 on the season with a 36-19 win that included an opening run of 20-1 by the starters.

Everyone played and contributed to holding Conway to just five field goals in the game, four of them by Summer Roachell who scored 14 of her team’s points.

McKenzie Adams led Bryant with 12 points, Kiara Moore had 10, Courtney Davidson 5, Hayley Murphy 4, McKenzie Rice 3 and Whitney Meyer 2.

The game was the last before Christmas for the Lady Hornets who return to competition on Wednesday, Dec. 30, against Malvern in the Kameron Hale Invitational Tournament at Lake Hamilton. Their next game in the South Division of the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference will be against North Little Rock on Jan. 4, in a battle between two of the three teams atop the league. (Cabot South is the third, and the Lady Hornets face them on Jan. 7.)

Ten games and 10 victories for the Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team now that they’ve dismissed the Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves, 43-28.

The game on Thursday at the Bryant Middle School gym lifted the Lady Hornets to 4-0 in the South Division of the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference. They’ll take a break from league play on Monday, Dec. 14, when they wrap up the pre-Christmas schedule at home against Conway White.

“We played a great first half,” declared Lady Hornets coach Eric Andrews. “We executed well against their zone, hitting several perimeter shots.”

The Lady Hornets rushed to a 15-2 lead in the opening quarter and led 28-12 at the half. It was 37-17 going into the fourth quarter.

“The second half was a different story,” Andrews said. “We just came out in the second half a little too relaxed.

By Rob Patrick

Trying to slow down Bryant Lady Hornets freshman guards McKenzie Adams and Kiara Moore, the Sheridan Lady Stingers freshman team deployed in a triangle-and-two defense to start their game at the Bryant Middle School gym on Thursday night.

It took a little while to get adjusted but, with the help of a pair of 3-point bombs by Logan Davis, the Lady Hornets forced the Lady Stingers to forego that strategy. And, with withering pressure defense, the Lady Hornets rolled to a 42-20 win that kept them unbeaten on the season.

Bryant is 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the South Division of the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference going into Monday’s game at Mount St. Mary’s Academy in Little Rock.

Coming off games in which she’d scored 24 and 26 points, respectively, Adams was held to 12 points by Sheridan but that still led all scorers. Moore, after being held scoreless in the first quarter, went on to score 9 points to go with Davis’ 8, which all came in the first half. Courtney Davidson pitched in with 7, Hayley Murphy 4 and Whitney Myer 2.

CONWAY — The Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team raced to an 18-1 lead in the first quarter and eased to a 46-25 victory over the Conway Blue Lady Wampus Kittens on Monday night.The game was the opener for both teams in the South Division of the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference. Bryant improved to 7-0 overall.

“This was a great way to start conference play,” stated Lady Hornets coach Eric Andrews. “The girls understand that the wins to this point mean nothing in conference play. They came out and played with a lot of fire and energy.”

GREENBRIER — Bryant Lady Hornets freshman guard McKenzie Adams finished Monday’s game at Greenbrier with as many points as the hosting Lady Panthers.

Adams hit for 26 in Bryant’s 46-26 victory. She had 19 by halftime when the Lady Hornets, who improved to 6-0 on the season, had built a 27-13 advantage.