CABOT — Jordan Hancock scored 11 points to lead the Bryant White Lady Hornets eighth-grade team of Bryant Middle School to a 25-18 win over the Cabot North Lady Panthers eighth grade on Tuesday night.
Daria Greer added 6 points with Caitlin LaCerra, V’mya Palmer, Emma Chappell and Regan Dillon adding 2 points each.
“We pressed the whole game to increase tempo and get Cabot out of their half-court offense,” said Lady Hornets coach Ben Perry. “Even though we pressed, we fouled it difficult to hit our shots. We were just not shooting the ball very well.”
Still, the Lady Hornets ran out to an 8-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. It was 11-5 at the half.
“The second quarter was a defensive stop for both teams,” Perry said. “I was not pleased with how we were shooting. We failed to hit on many open shots and I think it got in the head of many of the players as they soon stopped taking advantage of open opportunities.”
After three quarters, Bryant led 19-10.
“It was a free-throw shooting challenge,” Perry said. “We had eight free throw attempts and only made four.
“We didn’t have a letdown during the third but we didn’t surge like I wanted either,” he related. “Cabot was able to rally in the fourth quarters and outscored us 8-6.
“It seemed that we could never pull away from them,” he added. “We pressed them and were able to get many turnovers but we would go for a layup and miss. Our team would not go up strong and would hope for a foul call instead of going strong to make the layup and getting a bonus shot attempt at a free throw. I tried to tell the girls that they were not going to get a call every time they went up for a layup.
“I’m sure the girls were tired going into the fourth quarter since they had pressed the whole game,” the coach mentioned. “Looking back, I would do several things differently as far as strategy and game play. However, a win is a win and the girls played hard. I didn’t get as many involved as I had in previous games but I know they will get the opportunities in many of our games to come.”
Bryant was 7 of 13 at the free-throw line. Cabot was just 2 of 9.
“That helped,” Perry said. “Seven-of-13 is good but we should strive to get to the line much more since we have been better with free throws. We must attack more.
“The girls have been playing tough and I hope to keep this going as games progress through the season,” he said. “We are 7-3 overall and 5-1 in season play. They are doing well but need to keep improving.”
The Lady Hornets wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule on Monday, Dec. 18, against Conway Blue.
