It was a far cry from the 43-21 loss that the Bryant White Lady Hornets eighth grade team of Bryant Middle School absorbed against the rival Benton Lady Panthers eighth-graders back on Nov. 27.
But like they did on Thursday, Jan. 31 against North Little Rock Blue, the Lady Hornets avenged a previous loss with a victory, subduing the Lady Panthers, 21-11.
The Lady Hornets forced 24 turnovers and held Benton to just 17 percent shooting from the field as they held a team under 15 points for the third game in a row.
“Last time we played them, it was early in the year,” acknowledged Lady Hornets coach Ben Perry. “It was a very fast game. My goal was to kind of try to slow the game down in our favor. And I think we did on defense. We slowed them down. They had to work for their shots. They’ve got a really strong post girl, so we tried to deny her, and the girls responded well. They’ve really worked hard this year and it shows.
“Offensively, we had a lot of open shots,” he added. “We didn’t really make a lot of open shots. But they still played well and got the win.”
Kylee Fleharty led the Lady Hornets with 11 points including a pair of 3’s. She also hit the only free throw the Lady Hornets could sink in 13 tries, something they’ve struggled with all season.
Jayla Knight added 6 points and had a strong game defensively at the top of the Bryant White zone.
“She’s got really quick hands, quick feet and she just has a motor that doesn’t stop,” Perry noted. “She really loves the game and has the ‘want’ to win.”
Lauren Lain had 4 points and six rebounds while Haya Winfield led the team with seven boards.
The Lady Hornets held Benton’s post Emma Albaugh to just 3 points, but she hauled down 16 rebounds. Addison Davis and Dakota Hobson each had 3 as well. Alyssa Houston added 2.
The first quarter ended 5-5 but there were indications of what was ahead. Benton only managed four field goal attempts in the quarter including Hobson’s long 3 at the buzzer, while the Lady Hornets attempted 14 shots.
Bryant White never trailed. The game was tied at 6 in the second quarter but Fleharty took a feed from Johnson and hit a 12-footer in the final minute to give the Lady Hornets an 8-6 lead at the half.
Benton had 15 turnovers in the first half and went 2 for 10 from the field.
Bryant White picked up the scoring in the second half, sparked by a 3 from Fleharty. Lain scored off the offensive glass then Knight made a steal and a layup to stretch the lead to 15-6.
Houston scored inside with :52 left, ending a field-goal drought of almost two quarters. It was the first basket since Hobson’s 3 to end the opening period.
Davis hit a free throw in the final seconds of the third to cut the Lady Hornets’ lead to 15-9.
And when Davis scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, it was a 15-11 lead. But over the final 5:22, the Lady Panthers did not score.
Knight hit a couple of jumpers in the lane then assisted on the game’s final bucket by Lain.
Now 7-8 on the second, the Lady Hornets have won three in a row and 4 of their last 6 games. They’ll try to avenge another loss earlier this season when they close out the campaign on Thursday at North Little Rock Gold.
LADY HORNETS 21, LADY PANTHERS 11
Eighth grade
Score by quarters
Benton 5 1 3 2 — 11
Bryant White 5 4 7 6 — 21
LADY PANTHERS 11
Davis 1-5 1-2 3, McIntire 0-1 0-4 0, Hendrix 0-1 0-0 0, Little 0-1 0-0 0, Albaugh 1-5 1-4 3, Cropp 0-0 0-0 0, Hobson 1-4 0-0 3, Bufford 0-2 0-0 0, Houston 1-4 0-2 2, Calaway 0-1 0-0 0, Simmons 0-0 0-0 0, B.Simpson 0-0 0-0 0, Givens 0-0 0-0 0, Hill 0-0 0-0 0. Totals:4-24 (17%) 2-12 (17%) 11.
LADY HORNETS 21
Fleharty 4-10 1-2 11, Knight 3-13 0-3 6, Johnson 0-3 0-2 0, Lain 2-6 0-4 4, Winfield 0-7 0-2 0, Welch 0-0 0-0 0, Ellison 0-1 0-0 0, DelCastillo 0-0 0-0 0, Horton 0-0 0-0 0, Danzy 0-0 0-0 0, Lester 0-0 0-0 0, Corvin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals:9-40 (23%) 1-13 (8%) 21.
Three-point field goals:Bryant White 2-9 (Fleharty 2-6, Knight 0-2, Johnson 0-1), Benton 1-6 (Hobson 1-4, Bufford 0-1, Davis 0-1). Turnovers:Bryant White 14, Benton 24. Rebounds:Bryant White 14-17 31 (Winfield 4-3 7, Lain 5-1 6, Johnson 2-2 4, Fleharty 2-2 4, Knight 0-3 3, Welch 0-3 3, DelCastillo 0-1 1, Horton 0-1 1, team 1-1 2), Benton 8-25 33 (Albaugh 4-12 16, Hendrix 2-3 5, Houston 1-2 3, Little 0-2 2, Cropp 0-1 1, Bufford 0-1 1, Hobson 0-1 1, Givens 0-1 1, team 0-3 3). Team fouls:Bryant White 14, Benton 12.
