Lady Hornets win 2 of 3 in Classic; Slack pours in 39 against Siloam Springs
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
Though the Bryant Lady Hornets had certainly been practicing, they didn’t look themselves on Thursday, Dec. 28, when they opened the annual Bryant Holiday Classic against the Van Buren Pointerettes. The focus just wasn’t there. It didn’t help that senior leader Bree Mann suffered a thigh bruise early in the contest or that leading scorer Jennifer Slack got into foul trouble just as she seemed to be hitting her stride or that Van Buren was a solid, well-coached, tough defensive team.
The result was a 54-43 win for Van Buren, just the second loss of the season for the Lady Hornets and an end to their hopes of adding the Classic championship to their Walmart Supercenter Shootout title from earlier this season.
That was the bad news.
The good news was that the Lady Hornets responded positively. After rolling past an over-matched Bauxite team on Friday (with Mann sitting out the second half), they ratcheted up the intensity for an impressive 72-67 win over the Siloam Springs Lady Panthers who came into the tournament with a 6-0 record and left with a 7-2 mark.
Slack erupted for a career-high 39 points to go with 11 rebounds in Saturday’s game. Mann came back with 15 points and eight boards.
Bryant assistant Mark Scarlett indicated that seeing how the other top teams played — including Van Buren, Watson Chapel, Siloam Springs, Central Arkansas Christain and eventual champion Rogers — gave the team a more concrete idea of what kind of performance they needed to produce to be a top team in the state. They certainly put it to the test on Saturday and it figures to serve them well as they return to the regular season and the AAAAA-South Conference on Friday, Jan. 4, at home against a no-doubt fired up Sheridan team.
Sheridan, which returned all five starters from their league championship team of 2000-01, was Bryant’s victim in the Shootout finals and figures to be primed for the re-match.
Bryant 72, Siloam Springs 67
Slack was 11-of-18 from the floor including a 3-pointer and 16-of-21 from the line as the Lady Panthers had no answer for her. She scored 15 points in the second quarter to keep the Lady Hornets close then 9 more in the third quarter when they took the upper hand.
In all, the Lady Hornets were 26-of-35 at the free-throw line thanks to their aggressiveness on offense. That, plus a 41-22 advantage on the boards helped Bryant overcome 10 3-point baskets by the Lady Panthers.
But the jump shots from Siloam Springs cost them. They only attempted 12 free throws.
Bryant scored the first four points of the game, all by Mann, an early showing that her leg was feeling better. Siloam, however, answered with a 10-1 rush sparked by 6-0 center Kendra McCormick who finished with a team-high 20 points before fouling out.
Mann hit a short jumper to get her team back on track and, by the end of the quarter, the game was even at 15.
It was tied repeatedly in the second quarter. The largest difference was the 28-24 edge the Lady Panthers enjoyed midway through the period and the 40-36 edge they held at the end.
It was 45-41 with 5:30 to play in the third quarter when Bryant made its move. Slack knocked down a 12-foot jumper and, after an illegal screen cost the Lady Panthers the ball, Yousra Elhagemoussa scored over McCormick to tie it at 45.
After a Siloam miss, Mann popped from 12-feet to give Bryant the lead and, moments later, Slack splashed a trey to make it 50-45.
Bryant never trailed again.
Siloam was, however, within 2 with 2:41 left and had two chances to tie it only to commit turnovers. The second one proved costly as Bryant sophomore Dani Sutton skimmed a 3-pointer off the glass from the corner. A free throw and an offensive rebound bucket by Slack in the final 1:30 bumped the lead to 58-50 going into the final quarter.
And when Slack was fouled on a drive to the hoop early in the fourth quarter, she converted twice to make it a 10-point edge.
McCormick ended a dryspell of over five minutes for Siloam Springs with a free throw at the 5:38 mark but, with free throws by Rachel Blakley and Slack, Bryant maintained the lead.
It was 70-61 when Gray flushed her fourth trey with :28 left, getting her team back to within 6 points but Blakley hit a free throw with :21 left and Slack hit one with :06 to go to make a buzzer-beating 3 by Siloam’s Brooke Wardner nothing more than window-dressing.
Bryant 62, Bauxite 29
Slack scored 17 points in three quarters as the Lady Hornets took control early had got a good performance from the reserves in the fourth quarter that opened up the big lead.
Bryant led 7-0 before Bauxite got on the board on a jumper from the corner by Nikki Coburn. It was one of just 10 field goals in the game for the Lady Miners.
Bryant led 13-4 after the first quarter, 30-15 at the half. With Slack scoring 9 of her points in the third quarter, the margin grew to as much as 47-18.
A three-point play by Cory Brown gave Bauxite some life in the final two minutes of the third period. Free throws by Micah Kirby and a late 3 by Sara Beth Coburn made it 48-25 going into the fourth quarter.
The reserves took over for Bryant and after Kirby scored the first basket of the period, played even with the Lady Miners starters. A 3-pointer by Sutton, who had 8 points in the game and a basket by Lindsey Stone made it 53-37.
Nikki Coburn scored with 4:06 left then Bauxite coach Lynnea Wright emptied her bench and Bryant closed with a 9-0 run sparked by Elizabeth Farish who scored the last 6 points of the game.
Van Buren 54, Bryant 43
Mann suffered her injury early but played on. Van Buren broke out to an 8-2 lead and, though they got close repeatedly, the Lady Hornets couldn’t manage a lead the rest of the way.
Elhagemoussa, the Lady Hornets’ sophomore center, helped keep the team close and scored a team-high 11 points. Mann managed just 6 points and 2 rebounds in the game. Slack, in foul trouble early, sat out the last six minutes of the half.
After trailing 10-6 after one quarter, the Lady Hornets trailed by as much as 10 in the second period before a pair of baskets by Mann in the final two minutes cut it to 26-20.
But the Lady Hornets went dry for the first 2:10 of the third quarter. The lead went back to 10 then Slack made a steal and scored off an offensive rebound to get Bryant going again. After grabbing an defensive board, Slack went coast to coast for a basket as she was fouled. She missed the free throw but Bryant was back within 6. And when Van Buren turned the ball over, Slack fed Elhagemoussa for a short jumper that made it 30-26.
Van Buren’s center Stephanie Jones, who finished with 18 points, hit a turnaround jumper but, moments later, Slack tossed in a 3-pointer then fed Mann for a layup to make it 32-31.
Van Buren took a timeout with 3:05 left in the third quarter and returned with a play that got an open look for Tasha Buchanon who drove the baseline for a basket.
It was 38-34 going into the fourth quarter and the Lady Hornets eventually pulled even at 40 as Elhagemoussa scored twice around a basket by Laurie Chamness for Van Buren. Chamness was then whistled for an offensive foul and Bryant guard Jamie Stephens made them pay with a jumper in the corner that tied it.
But after a timeout, the Pointerettes put together a decisive 12-1 run.
