Raija Todd poured in 21 points to lead the Bryant Blue Lady Hornets eighth grade team of Bethel Middle School to a 31-23 win over the Hot Springs Lakeside Lady Rams on Thursday evening at the Bethel gym. The victory, which improved the Lady Hornets to 8-0 on the season, was part of a three-game sweep for Bethel.
In a seventh grade A game, the Lady Hornets edged Lakeside, 16-14. In a seventh grade B game, Bethel prevailed 13-4.
“Raija had a really good game for us,” said Lady Hornets coach Rhonda Hall. “And Bailey (Rowton) did a great job on the boards.”
Rowton collected seven caroms to go with 4 points. Danielle Singleton, Stephanie Cullen and Katie Evans added 2 points each with Cullen collecting three rebounds and Evans two.
“Our team is really improving and learning to make better decisions in games,” Hall noted.
Bethel grabbed a 9-6 lead in the first quarter. It was 21-12 at the half and 27-19 going into the fourth quarter.
In the seventh grade A game, Mary Catherine Selig paced the Lady Hornets with 8 points. Megan Lee, Rachel Studdard, Ashlyn Thompson and Allysa Fason added 2 apiece.
Lakeside held a 6-4 lead after a quarter and was up 10-7 at the half. But Bethel held the Lady Rams to just 4 points in the second half, setting the stage for the comeback. It was 12-12 going into the fourth quarter.
In the B game, Micah Boyles scored 3 points with Ellen Barnes, Bailey Brazil, Grave Oullette, Emily Cox and Evelyn Rigsby each pitching in with 2.
The Lady Hornets built a 9-1 lead by halftime. It was 11-3 going into the fourth quarter.
Up next for the Bethel eighth grade team is a trip across town to play Bryant Middle School on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The seventh grade team is set to play in a tournament at Bauxite this Saturday.
