Lady Hornets stun Benton to win another trophy
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
By ROB PATRICK
BRYANT TIMES
BENTON — Senior center Robin Speake made the first start of her high school basketball career on Saturday, Dec. 11, in the finals of the Wal-Mart Supercenter Shootout against the host Benton Lady Panthers.
And she did nothing short of saving the game as the Lady Hornets captured their second tournament title of the season and improved to 8-0 overall with a 45-43 victory over their arch rivals.
The win came despite the fact that leading scorer Amanda Grappe was unavailable due to an ankle injury suffered the night before in a win over Hot Springs. Speake started in her place and, with the game tied 41-41, was back defensively as Benton’s high-scoring Caroline Starr driving towards the basket after beating the Bryant press. Starr, who scored 31 of her team’s 43 points in the game, tried to get a short shot away but the Speake blocked it. Allison Grappe gathered in the deflection.
“I was just hoping I didn’t foul her,” Speake said after the game. “I didn’t want her to be shooting free throws because she’s really good at shooting them. I was really scared because the game was really close at that point. I didn’t even realize what had happened at first. Then, I was like, ‘Yes! I did it!’ I was running. I was so excited.”
So, the game was still tied. The Lady Hornets worked the clock until, with :11.9 remaining, Ashley Grappe was fouled.
As she stepped to the line, Ashley had made 27 of 28 free throws this season including her last 16 in a row. But she missed the first shot. The second, however, was nothing but net and Bryant had a 42-41 lead.
The Lady Hornets then amped up the defensive pressure and Benton could not get the ball in. The five-second violation returned possession to the Lady Hornets and, with :11.3 showing, Allison Grappe was fouled. She sank the first shot and Benton called a timeout. When the teams returned to the floor, the second shot missed. But somehow, Speake got the rebound and stuck it back up and in to give the Lady Hornets a 45-41 lead that Starr’s last-second basket only trimmed.
“Whenever I’m in there, I do stuff I don’t realize I do,” Speake said with a grin. “It just came down and I just put it back up and I didn’t even realize it went in at first because I kind of got fouled. But that was okay. I just got back on defense and then the buzzer went off. I was real excited.”
To illustrate how well the other four Lady Hornets played in the game, and the tournament, they were all named to the all-tournament team, led by Ashley Grappe, the tournament MVP with Allison Grappe, Kalin Dreher and Amie Hubbard garnering the honors.
“They have learned to find a way to win,” stated Lady Hornets head coach Rhonda Hall. “Each one of them is willing to do their part. You can look again at this game, just like every other game we’ve played so far. A different person steps up and makes a play. Robin made a great play at the end, Ashley made a great play to get us to that, Allison steps up and makes a big play and hits the free throw at the end.
“Again, it’s every one of them making their big play,” Hall emphasized. “Kalin did just a super job on defense tonight. She played that baseline perfect, got some big rebounds and made some big baskets when we really needed them. I saw her provide the leadership that she did before, the energy that she had before.
“And Al did the same thing. Al kept us going in the first half. She got a spark and lit a fire under some of them. It’s just been a different one every time and that’s why I enjoy this team. They’re willing to give it to whoever and each one of them is willing to do their part.”
Indeed, the key time in the game may have been late in the first half. Already without Amanda Grappe, the Lady Hornets had to go without their floorleader Ashley Grappe when she picked up her third foul to cap off a frustrating half for her in which she went 0 for 7 from the field.
She went to the bench with just under six minutes left in the half and the Lady Hornets trailing 18-8. Benton had just finished off a 15-1 run in which Starr scored 13 points.
But Dreher ended the Bryant dryspell with 4:26 left, taking a nice feed inside from Hubbard for a basket. The Lady Hornets forced a Benton turnover and Hubbard was fouled. She cashed in twice at the line to trim the lead to 6.
With 2:22 to go, Hubbard found Allison Grappe in the corner and her soft jumper make it 18-14.
The two teams traded turnovers until Allison hit a free throw that made it a 3-point game. A late basket by Starr gave Benton a 20-15 halftime lead, but the Lady Hornets, without their two top scorers on the season, had cut the margin in half.
“It just reminded us that we can depend on everybody on our bench,” said Hubbard, who took over as the point guard during that stretch. “Everybody stepped up. I just tried to run our offense, to keep the ball moving and get open shots. Luckily, we made them at good times.”
And when Ashley Grappe returned in the third quarter, the Lady Hornets pushed into the lead. Hubbard lobbed a pass into Dreher in the post for the first hoop then made a steal. She got the ball to Ashley who got it back to her for a short jumper that cut the lead to 1.
Grappe then made a steal and drove to the other end for a three-point play that gave the Lady Hornets a 22-20 lead.
The game was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way. Benton managed a 30-26 edge going into the fourth quarter and bumped it up to 6 when Grace Parker scored the first bucket of the period. But Ashley Grappe made a driving layup and, after Starr hit a free throw, Hubbard scored. With 4:28 left, Allison Grappe nailed a 3-pointer and the game was tied 33-33.
A 3-pointer by Benton’s Jo Jo Grant kept the Lady Panthers ahead. Allison Grappe hit two free throws and, after a reverse layup by Starr, Bridgette McPeak hit a short jumper to keep the Lady Hornets within a point, 38-37 with 2:41 left.
Parker scored and the Lady Panthers had a chance to increase the margin more after a Bryant miss. But Hubbard and Ashley Grappe combined to force a turnover and Grappe’s free throws cut it back to 1.
With 1:20 to go, Grant hit a free throw but, moments later, Ashley Grappe converted twice to knot it at 41, setting up the dramatic finish.
