The Bryant Hornets game against the Catholic Rockets for third place at the Mike Hendricks Memorial Benton Panther Invitational Tournament was snowed out. 

The game was called as the teams were about to warm up (or try) in the midst of blowing snow which intensified after the end of the championship game in which Sheridan defeated Benton 13-11. 

As it turned out, due to a wave of sickness through the Catholic team, the Rockets JV was set to play the game anyway.

The Hornets and Rockets play a 7A-Central Conference game at Lamar Porter Field this Thursday, March 5, after the Hornets open league play at home against Little Rock Central on Tuesday, March 3.  

• Though it wasn't widely reported, the Cabot Lady Panthers basketball team traveled to Van Buren on Thursday, Feb. 26, and lost to the Pointerettes, 55-36. That means that the Bryant Lady Hornets finished in a tie for second place in the 7A-Central Conference. Both Bryant and Cabot finished 10-4 in league play. But Cabot retains the No. 2 seed for the State Tournament and the first-round bye that goes with it having the tiebreaker advantage over the Lady Hornets. In head-to-head competition, Cabot defeated the Lady Hornets in Bryant, 69-61, while Bryant won at Cabot, 69-66.

Bryant is 19-6 overall, Cabot 20-7. Both finished behind North Little Rock, 22-3 and 14-0. Little Rock Central (14-12, 7-7) is fourth, Conway (15-11, 6-8) fifth and Van Buren (14-13, 6-8) sixth.  

As the No. 3 seed, the Lady Hornets will open State play on Wednesday, March 4, at 4 p.m., against Springdale Har-Ber which finished sixth after losing to crosstown rival Springdale on Friday, Feb. 27, 36-32. Har-Ber brings a 10-18 overall record to State. Springdale (14-12), as the No. 5, seed will play Central in the first round.

Undefeated Fayetteville (29-0) is the top seed in the West. Rogers (22-5) is second, Fort Smith Northside (20-6) third and Bentonville (16-11) fourth. Northside will open against Van Buren, Bentonville against Conway. 

The Class 7A State Tournament is being held at the Stubblefield Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. 

• The Bryant Hornets baseball team was rained out on Friday night when they were scheduled to host the Lake Hamilton Wolves. At first, the game was re-scheduled for 10 a.m. this morning but the game was called off. The Hornets were set to return to action this evening at 5:30 in the third-place game at the Benton Panthers Invitational Tournament. Bryant will play Little Rock Catholic.

• A players clinic, sponsored by the Bryant Athletic Association, is scheduled for Saturday, March 7, will be held at the Bryant High School field. The BAA's preseason youth tournament starts on March 26. Opening ceremonies and team photos are scheduled for Saturday, April 18. That's also the day that candy money is due for those participating in the organization's fund raiser.

By Mark Hart

PARAGOULD — On a night not fit for man or beast, the Lady Hornet soccer team put their first game in the win column with a 3-1 victory over Mountain Home at a tournament in Paragould.

Lindsai Arceneaux accounted for two goals. Lauren Reed added the third.

Game time temperature on Friday was 42 degrees but the northern wind gusting 20 mph made it feel like 31.

Arceneaux got the Lady Hornets on the board in the first half with a goal against the win.Playing with the wind

 in the second half, she added her second. Reed, a freshman subbing for senior starter Amber Moskow, capped the scoring.

Moskow was out with an ankle injury she sustained in the Lady Hornets’ opener against Mount St. Mary’s, a 1-0 loss on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Because of the threat of more cold and even snow, some of the teams at the tournament apparently forfeited and returned home.The Lady Hornets were originally slated to take on Nettleton on Saturday morning in the second round but their opponent was changed to Paragould.

Have you heard lots of differing views on the upcoming vote for the millage for the Bryant School District? Do you feel like you don't really know how this vote will impact your taxes? Do you want to talk to the people in charge of the money to find out exactly what it will be used for?

If your answer to these questions is YES, then you are invited to attend a town meeting to be held at Springhill Elementary School in the library at 6:30 p.m. on Mar. 2. Members of the school board and the Superintendent, Dr. Richard Abernathy, will be on hand to answer your questions.

If you are not able to attend the town meeting, take a moment to review the facts at: http://www.bryantschools.org/ and vote on March 10 (or earlier with the early voting option).

— Springhill Elementary PTO

By Kirk Stewart

Thursday night, Feb. 26, was the most exciting night yet of the third through sixth grade city league basketball tournament.

The night got off to a roaring start as Team Sandidge fought from behind to defeat Team Sanders 25-24 in the third/fourth grade boys division. It was Team Sander’s second loss, eliminating them from the tournament.

The other third/fourth grade boys game had another comeback bid. Team Pringle fought from behind all night trying to catch up to Team Dupree. But, in the end it fell just short with Team Dupree advancing with a score of 28-22, ending Team Pringle’s tournament.

LITTLE ROCK — When soccer was first introduced to high school athletics back in the 1990's, Little Rock Catholic and Mount St. Mary's Academies were among those pushing for its addition and they embraced the sport right away. Ever since, their programs have been among the best in the state. They've been among those that have set the standard for the rest of the pack.

Last year, Mount St. Mary's won a Class 7A State championship. Catholic has titles in 2007 and 2002 and made it to the semifinals in 2008. 

Early on, when Bryant's girls played a Mount St. Mary's, it was the Belles' JV team that the Lady Hornets faced. In recent years, the varsity squads have played but Mount has been getting the best of it.

The Bryant boys haven't been playing Catholic's Rockets for many years but it's been a pretty lopsided series. No Hornets team has ever beaten a Rockets team.

But the gaps are closing.

On Thursday, Feb. 26, the Lady Hornets, opening the season without all of their players, just couldn't get a shot in the net though they had opportunities and Mount St. Mary's escaped with a 1-0 win in the 7A-Central Conference opener for both teams.

And the Hornets, coming in 5-0 on the season, played the Rockets about as close as any Bryant team ever has, absorbing a tough 3-0 setback in its league opener.

By Rob Patrick

BENTON — When baserunners are as few as they were for the Bryant Hornets and the Sheridan Yellowjackets in their second-round match at the Benton Panther Invitational Tournament on Thursday, Feb. 26, it behooves a team to make the most of what they get.

Sheridan did. Alas, the Hornets did not.

As a result, the Yellowjackets pinned the first loss of the season on Bryant, 3-0, to advance to the championship game against the winner of Friday's (or Saturday's, depending on the weather) other semifinal between Little Rock Catholic and the host team. Bryant was set to play the loser of that contest, after hosting Lake Hamilton in a regular-scheduled game on Friday afternoon at 4:30.

"We just didn't compete at the plate," asserted Hornets coach Kirk Bock. "We didn't compete offensively. We practice that. We just didn't execute the system. And we made some baserunning mistakes and it hurt us. We certainly have things to work on but I am disappointed in not executing.

"We made some blunders defensively that, in a tight game, hurt you too," he added.

By Rob Patrick

The Bryant Lady Hornets won't face many — if any— pitchers as tough as Lake Hamilton's Kelsie Armstrong this season. 

Armstrong, a standout for the Lady Wolves for a couple of years now, whipped up a two-hit shutout, striking out 16, to lead her team to a 4-0 win over the Lady Hornets on Thursday, Feb. 26.

The loss dropped the young Bryant team to 1-2 on the season going into their 7A-Central Conference opener at home against Little Rock Central on Tuesday, March 3.

The Lady Hornets were only able to get four runners on base in the game, all with two outs. In the second, Jessie Taylor made a bid for her second home run in as many games, knocking the ball off the fence in left for a double which was the first Bryant hit. She was stranded.

In the third, Armstrong struck out the first two then Paige Turpin reached base on an error. Turpin swiped second but Armstrong ended the inning with another strikeout.

The Bethel Middle School PIE (Partners in Education) will be hosting the first Hornet Hoopla 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 14.

This tournament is open to boys/girls and men/women from 3rd grade and up. Registration forms can be downloaded from the Bethel Middle School page at www.bryantschools.org. The entry fee is $40 per team, and the entry deadline is March 7.

Please visit the school website or contact Bethel Middle School for more information.