Photos by Kevin Nagle
Meagan Chism goes up for a shot in traffic. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
The Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team out-rebounded the North Little Rock Lady Charging Wildcats 37-34 on Monday night in their Central Arkansas Junior High Conference game at the Bryant Middle School gym. Bryant’s total included a whopping 22 boards on the offensive side.
That tells you two things: First that the Lady Hornets were playing hard, blocking out and showing some tenacity. But it also meant they were missing a lot of shots. Much to their frustration.
The lid was on the basket and it didn’t help that the game was physical. Every shot inside the lane or under the bucket was going to be accompanied by bumping and slapping.
As it was, the two teams combined to shoot 41 free throws. There could’ve been a lot more.
In the end, Bryant hit just 4 of 40 shots from the field and 9 of 20 from the free-throw line in a 35-17 loss to the Lady Cats, who are tied for the lead in the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference at 3-0.
The Lady Hornets will try to get their first conference victory when they visit Conway Blue on Thursday.
Mary Catherine Selig scored 7 points and collected 10 rebounds for Bryant against North Little Rock. Meagan Chism had 4 points, Kalia Walker and Tenise Robinson scored 2 each and Alyssa Fason and Lexi Helton 1 apiece.
North Little Rock scored the game’s first 7 points before Chism drove for a basket. But before the Lady Hornets could score again, it was 14-2. Walker’s 8-foot jumper made it a 10-point game and, after a pair of misses at the free-throw line by the Lady Cats, Robinson converted a pair of free throws to make it 14-6.
Mary Catherine Selig (21) yanks down one of her 10 rebounds in Monday’s game. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
It was 19-6 before Bryant scored again. Selig drove for a layup at the buzzer ending the half with North Little Rock up by 11.
The Lady Cats scored the first basket of the third quarter but Selig answered off a nice feed from Chism. North Little Rock answered before Chism converted two free throws out of four on a pair of trips to the line.
But an 12-3 run for the Lady Cats put the game out of reach. Free throws by Selig were the only points for Bryant during that stretch. The Lady Hornets did not have a field goal after Selig’s basket early in the third quarter.
Free throws from Fason and Helton late in the game set the final score.
Kalia Walker goes up for a shot. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
