Photos by Kevin Nagle
Macey Jaramillo launches a 3-pointer. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
CABOT — The Bryant Lady Hornets freshman basketball team has been working to try to improve at attacking a zone defense. But they hadn’t been working on it against a team with the length and ball-hawking ability of the Cabot South Lady Panthers, one of the top teams in the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference.
The Lady Panthers forced 11 turnovers in the first quarter while rolling out to a 15-0 lead. Macey Jaramillo finally broke the ice for Bryant with 1:12 left in the period, hitting a 3-pointer.
Cabot South opened the second period with a 7-2 run interrupted only by two free throws from Destiny Martin, making it a 22-4 advantage on the way to a 34-16 win.
Sparked by Jaramillo’s steal and layup with 2:25 left in the half, the Lady Hornets got a spurt going for a while. Riley Hill hit a 15-foot jumper and Kendal Rogers followed up with a bucket from about 10 feet to make it 22-10.
The run was punctuated by Rogers’ block of a 3-point try at the buzzer.
Down 12 wasn’t too bad considering the rugged start of the game. And when neither team could score for the first half of the third quarter, there was still hope for the Lady Hornets to mount a comeback.
But that hope was tempered by the fact that the Lady Hornets suffered another pair of turnovers, giving them 20 for the game, before a free throw, an offensive rebound and two more free throws pushed the Cabot South lead to 25-10.
Jaramillo canned a jumper from just inside the 3-point line to make it a 13-point game with 2:09 left in the third quarter but the Lady Hornets would not score again until the final two minutes of the game.
Bryant’s Riley Hill starts to get up after a scramble for a loose ball Monday night. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
In the meantime, the Lady Panthers extended the margin to 31-12 going into the fourth quarter then 32-12 before Kasey Ward scored inside with 1:53 to go. Lauren Lessenberry beat the buzzer with a 15-foot jumper for Bryant, setting the final score.
Jaramillo finished with 7 points. No one else had more than 2 for the Lady Hornets.
Bryant goes from the frying pan into the fire on Thursday. The only team ahead of Cabot South in the CAJHC is North Little Rock, the Lady Hornets’ next destination.
Destiny Martin gets to the basket on a drive through the Cabot South defense. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
