In a hotly-contested defensive game in which the two teams combined to force 62 turnovers, the Bryant White Lady Hornets eighth grade team of Bryant Middle School prevailed over the Conway Blue Lady Cats, 30-27, on Monday night.
Emma Chappell scored a season-high 9 points and Jordan Hancock had 8 to lead the Lady Hornets. Daria Greer added 5, Savannah Lucas 3, Regan Dillon and Caitlin LaCerra 2 each and V’mya Palmer hit a free throw.
“It was ugly, but a win,” said Lady Hornets coach Ben Perry. “Conway Blue had a great diamond press. They were physical and active. We were sloppy with the ball and not very high energy on defense.”
The Lady Hornets suffered a season-high 37 turnovers but forced 25.
“Luckily, we were able to convert on some turnovers and we went into the locker room at the half with a 15-10 lead,” Perry related. “We seemed lethargic and slow on defense and we did not take care of the ball at all on offense. We allowed them to steal the ball way too easily while we were dribbling. I was very unhappy with how we took care of the Ball.”
At the end of the third quarter, the Bryant lead was 22-17. And the Lady Hornets were able to hang on by hitting crucial free throws in the final quarter.
“Although, during the game it didn’t feel like, we out-rebounded them 41-32 with 26 of our rebounds on the defensive end,” Perry said. “That tells me that we allowed them to take way too many shots. Luckily, our rebounding and pressure defense allowed us to get the ball and get to the line.”
Bryant White hit 7 of 11 from the line while Conway Blue was only 4 of 13.
“They had a more aggressive defensive pressure than we had seen all year,” the coach mentioned. “It’s good for the girls to play against this type of defense and learn that ball-security is key.”
The win was the Lady Hornets’ seventh in a row since an 0-2 start.
“We will get together a little over the break and get a shot at a very good Conway White team,” Perry said, referring to the team’s next game on Thursday, Jan. 4, at Conway White.
“So far, we keep rolling through the season with wins,” he acknowledged, “I just hope to carry that momentum into the latter part of our season.”
