By Rob Patrick
CABOT — The improvement of the Bryant Blue Lady Hornets eighth grade team of Bethel Middle School was evident on Monday night when they battled the Cabot North Lady Panthers eighth graders before absorbing a 29-20 loss.
In the previous meeting between the two teams just over a month ago, Cabot North came to Bryant and left with a 48-12 victory.
“We had a much better game than our previous outing with Cabot North,” acknowledged Lady Hornets coach Rhonda Hall. “The girls played hard and showed some fight about them.”
Anna Lowery, who led Bryant Blue with 8 points, and Britney Sahlmann accounted for their team’s points in the first quarter, which ended with Cabot North clinging to a 7-6 lead. But the Lady Panthers’ pressure defense took its toll on the Lady Hornets in the second quarter to produce a 14-6 halftime lead.
It was 19-8 early in the third quarter with Peyton Ramsey getting the Lady Hornets back in the scoring column. And when Annie Patton and Jordan McKnight added short jumpers, the latter off a steal by Sahlmann, the lead was down to 7 going into the fourth quarter.
But the Lady Hornets couldn’t get any closer than that as the teams traded points down the stretch.
Sahlmann finished with 4 points, five rebounds and four steals. Ramsey also had five rebounds. Patton finished with 4 points as well. Ramsey and McKnight had 2 each.
The Lady Hornets, now 6-6, return to action on Thursday, Jan. 19, against Lake Hamilton.
