PEARCY — After getting closer and closer to victory in the games leading up to the Christmas break including an overtime heartbreaker against Mount St. Mary, the Bryant Lady Hornets freshman basketball team got over the hump on Wednesday, Dec. 28.

Rushing out to a 12-1 lead in the first quarter, the Lady Hornets eased to a 35-20 victory over the Central Arkansas Christian Junior Lady Mustangs in the first round of the annual Kameron Hale Memorial Invitational tournament. They’ll take on the rival Benton Lady Panthers in semifinal action today at 3 p.m., with hopes that their third meeting will be the charm.

Nikki Clay scored 14 points and Destiny Huffman 8 to lead the offense for Bryant on Wednesday. Jayla Anderson added 6, Taylor Lindberg 3 with Kierra Solinger and Mallory Curry pitching in 2 apiece.

“We played very well from the start of the game,” stated Lady Hornets coach Nathan Castaldi. “Nikki and Destiny did a good job offensively. CAC was playing a 2-3 zone and they were aggressive in trying to get to the basket.

“Defensively, I thought we played okay,” he continued. “Once we got up big, we had some mental breakdowns, which we need to improve on. I thought Jayla did a great job defensively on their best player.”

Bryant led 15-6 at the half and 28-10 going into the fourth quarter.