Lady Hornets make quick work of Lady Warriors
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
Photos by Kevin Nagle
Aubree Allen goes up for a shot. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
LITTLE ROCK — When the Bryant Lady Hornets hosted the Little Rock J.A. Fair Lady Warriors in January, it took a while for them to shake loose. Their lead was just 25-19 going into the final two minutes of the first half then 29-19 at the break.
They still wound up easing to a 57-32 win over the winless Lady Warriors.
On the return trip to Fair on Tuesday night, the Lady Hornets didn’t mess around. They opened with a 14-1 run and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game, eventually getting it to 30 points to institute the “mercy-rule” in the fourth quarter. Bryant eventually closed out with a 55-29 victory.
Coupled with their 51-50 win over Benton last week, the Lady Hornets may have a roll going and it comes at a good time. They face a pair of games in rapid succession later this week. On Thursday, Bryant has a make-up game at Pine Bluff before, on Friday, hosting Sheridan.
Jakeria Otey, coming off her 29-point performance in the win over Benton, led all scorers with 16 in about three quarters of play. Jayla Anderson added 13 including 10 in the first half. Sophomore Rachel Miller wound up with 12, scoring 10 of that in the second half.
Otey’s jumper from the corner opened the scoring and, after Fair’s Rachel Boyd hit a free throw, the Lady Hornets reeled off 12 in a row. Aubree Allen hit a free throw and Otey knocked down a baseline jumper. Erica Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to keep it going. Annie Patton’s free throw make it 8-1.
Peyton Weaver (photo by Kevin Nagle)
Otey got to the line after making a steal, bumping the margin with two free throws. Anderson came through with a steal and layup then capped the run by scoring off the offensive glass.
Two free throws by Fair’s Kimora Turner made it 14-3 going into the second stanza.
Boyd added a free throw to make it a 10-point game but the Lady Warriors were never that close the rest of the game. Otey hit a layup off a steal by Allen then, moments later, fed Anderson for a layup.
Boys hit another free throw but Miller converted twice to make it 20-5.
With 4:31 left in the half, Takedrean Clay hit a basket after grabbing an offensive rebound. It was the first field goal of the game for the Lady Warriors.
It was 26-11 with 1:45 left and when Peyton Weaver drove for a layup it started a 6-0 run to close out the half for the Lady Hornets — a run they extended in the third quarter to 17-0 as the lead ballooned to 43-11 before Fair could score again.
Anderson followed up Weaver’s basket with another steal. She got a pair of free throws out of it. Smith followed her own miss with :31 left in the second to make it 32-11.
To start the second half, Weaver fed Otey for a jumper in the lane, Anderson made yet another theft and got a layup. After a Lady Warriors timeout, Weaver and Allen worked a nice give-and-go to get two points. Anderson dished to Otey to cap the game-breaking run.
Jakeria Otey tries to get a shot away against J.A. Fair’s Dabrielle Slater. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
Bryant head coach Brad Matthews soon as his starters out of the game. After a layup by Boyd, Miller took a nice feed from Carolyn Reeves and came through with a three-point play and Bryant had its largest lead of the game at 33.
Miller added another three-point play and another pair of baskets to go with Maddie Baxter’s free throw. It was 54-22 before Fair’s Tiarra Wilson hit a 3 at the buzzer to prevent the fourth quarter from starting with the mercy rule in effect.
It eventually reached that point when Patton added a free throw with 4:15 left, making it 55-25.
Coach Brad Matthews instructs his team during a timeout. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
