Lady Hornets off to 4-0 beginning
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).
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Sophomore Jennifer Slack scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Bryant Lady Hornets to a 62-57 victory over the Greenbrier Lady Panthers in the first round of the Central Arkansas Christian Invitational Tournament Monday.
The win, on the heels of a convincing pre-Thanksgiving win at Searcy improved the Lady Hornets to 4-0 on the season going into the semifinals of the CAC event. They’ll play new AAAAA-South Conference rival Lake Hamilton Thursday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m.
The Lady Hornets broke out early against Greenbrier, building a lead of 18-5 by the end of the first quarter and as much as 22-9 in the second before the Lady Panthers rallied to within 34-23 at the half.
“We played pretty well in the first half,” commented Lady Hornets head coach Carla Crowder. “But the third and fourth quarters, we didn’t play as good. We kind of lost our intensity and got into some foul trouble. Four of our starters had four fouls when we ended the game.
“But we played real hard,” she added. “These kids work real hard. But I think we were afraid we were going to foul, I think, in the second half and started getting a little tentative.”
Greenbrier trimmed the margin to 46-41 by the end of the third quarter.
To go with Slack’s big production, the Lady Hornets got 15 points, four rebounds and two steals from senior guard Joanie Robideaux. Junior post Bree Mann added 12 points and seven boards and senior guard Candace Croy added 9 points.
“This is a great group to work with,” said Crowder, “and I think we’re getting better every game.”
It was a bit of a different story at Searcy as the Lady Hornets fell behind in the early going. Sparked by a pair of 3-pointers by Lindsey Smith, Searcy broke out to an 11-4 lead in the first period.
Croy, who led the Lady Hornets with 19 points, got a comeback revved up with a 3-pointer then tied the score at 11 with a layup off a steal by Robideaux at the end of the first period.
A 3 by Robideaux gave Bryant the lead in the early stages of the second period. Searcy managed to tie it at 14 before the Lady Hornets put together a 17-5 surge that included two more bombs from Croy.
After trailing 31-19 at the half, the Lady Lions were unable to get any closer than 14. Bryant’s largest lead was 67-39 when Lindsey Stone hit a free throw with :03 left.
A shot from halfcourt at the buzzer enabled Searcy to make the final score 67-42.
