Bryant girls open 7A State tourney tonight against familiar foe

File photo by Rick Nation

In one of the most entertaining and hotly-contested games of the 2015 Class 7A State basketball tournament at Springdale Har-Ber High School was a first-round battle in which the Bryant Lady Hornets and the Bentonville Lady Tigers clawed into overtime. Bryant eventually prevailed 64-59.

It came despite the fact that the tournament had been moved back day after day due to inclement weather. The team had stayed four nights in a hotel.

It was the first State Tournament win for a Lady Hornets team since 2010.

Fast forward to the 2016 Class 7A State tourney and here they go again. Though the weather won’t be a problem for the Lady Hornets with the tourney at Cabot, they will once again be playing Bentonville in their first-round game tonight at 7:30 p.m., as they make the State for the seventh year in a row.

Bentonville came into last year’s game at 17-9 while the Lady Hornets were 14-12. This year, there’s a contrast too. Though the Lady Tigers are the fourth seed from the 7A-West, they are 20-6 on the season. Bryant, up and down through the season, takes a 10-15 mark into the tournament but their wins include some impressive ones like a 37-36 victory over Russellville, the top-seeded team from the Central Conference at the Class 6A State. The losses include a pair by 2 points (one in overtime), another by 3 in overtime, two more by 4 and one by 6.

Bryant is led by sophomore guard Raija Todd and senior guard Emily Ridgell who both started in that overtime win last year against Bentonville. This season both have averaged double figures during 7A/6A-Central Conference play. At 15.1 points per game, Todd was the third leading scorer in the league behind Conway’s Alexis Tolefree and Russellville’s Shameka Ealy.

Ridgell, who sat out due to concussion protocals, returned to form last Friday with 17 points in a regular-season finale in which the Lady Hornets avenged their overtime loss earlier in the season to Siloam Springs. Ridgell has averaged 11.9 points per game in conference, placing her in the league’s top 10.

The Lady Hornets have also been buoyed by more scoring from senior center Rachael Miller.

Bentonville is led by Maddie Brittain, a senior shooting guard that’s six-feet tall. She was the second highest scorer in 7A-West Conference games at 14.0 per game. Only Fort Smith Northside’s Aaliyah Jackson averaged more at 18.9.

Two other Lady Tigers come in averaging double figures in league games. Lauren Hargus, a 5-10 junior point guard, averages 10.4 while Maren Johnson, a 6-0 senior center, averaged 10.3 a game.

Obviously, the Lady Tigers have as much size as any team Bryant has played this season. Chances are, Lady Hornets’ coach will use the 6-2 Miller and 5-10 sophomore forward Raven Loveless together to help offset that advantage.

2016 CLASS 7A STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Panther Arena, Cabot

Girls

Wednesday, March 2

Game 2 — Springdale (17-9) (West 3) vs. Cabot (18-11) (East 3), 1 p.m.

Game 4 — Little Rock Central (25-2) (East 2) vs. Springdale Har-Ber (16-12) (West 5), 4 p.m.

Game 6 — Bryant (10-15) (Central 3) vs. Bentonville (20-6) (West 4), 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 3

Game 8 — Van Buren (22-5) (Central 2) vs. Rogers (11-16) (West 6), 1 p.m.

Game 10 — Conway (28-1) (Central 1) vs. Game 1 winner, 4 p.m.

Game 12 — Fayetteville (21-6) (West 2) vs. game 2 winner, 7 p.m.

Friday, March 4

Game 14 — North Little Rock (23-5) (East 1) vs. game 6 winner, 4 p.m.

Game 16 — Fort Smith Northside (28-2) (West 1) vs. game 8 winner, 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 5

Game 18 — Game 10 winner vs. game 12 winner, 12 p.m.

Game 20 — Game 14 winner vs. game 16 winner, 6 p.m.

Championship game

At Bank of the Ozarks Arena, Hot Springs

Date/Time to be announced

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