Photos by Kevin Nagle
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — With a 15-2 run to start the game, the Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team had the North Little Rock Lady Charging Wildcats in a bind on Thursday night. Gamely, the Lady Cats rallied and actually trailed by just 4 during the third quarter.
But the Lady Hornets held them scoreless in the fourth period to close out an impressive 38-22 victory at North Little Rock High School.
It was the first time a Lady Hornets’ freshman team defeated a North Little Rock freshman team since January of 2017.
It was Bryant’s fifth win in a row. The Lady Hornets are set to play at Hot Springs on Monday, Dec. 9.
Lauren Lane and Emileigh Muse each scored 13 points to lead the way for Bryant. Haya Winfield and Jayla Knight added 5 apiece. Lain and Winfield each had seven rebounds.
And the Lady Hornets’ defense caused 24 turnovers and finished with a 34-22 rebound advantage, while holding North Little Rock’s strong post player Ce’Riah Evans to just 8 points and five rebounds. Evans had 6 of her points in that third-quarter rally for the Lady Cats.
Evans actually scored the first basket of the game then the Lady Hornets scored 15 in a row, starting with a 3 by Muse. She would add two free throws and another 3 to make it 8-2 going into the last two minutes of the opening quarter.
Lain banked in a short jumper and, after Knight hit a free throw, she made a steal and a layup to end the quarter with the Lady Hornets up 13-2.
Another steal by Knight to open the second period led to a free throw by Lane. On her missed second shot, Winfield rebounded and was fouled. She too made one of her two shots at the line to cap the run.
After a timeout with 4:33 left in the half, North Little Rock’s Aoliyah Smith hit a 3 to break the ice.
Before the half was over, the Lady Cats whittled the margin down to 18-12. Two free throws by Muse with :10.9 on the clock gave Bryant an 8-point lead at the break.
And when North Little Rock scored the first four points of the second half, the margin was down to 4.
But they never got any closer. Lain’s offensive-rebound basket got the Lady Hornets back in gear. Evans and Winfield traded baskets and the quarter ended with Bryant holding a 26-22 edge.
But Evans picked up her fourth foul in the early stages of the fourth period. Lain hit one of her free throws then the teams scrambled for several possessions before Muse knocked down her third triple to push the lead back to 8.
North Little Rock’s Zenyana Cooper was fouled with 3:47 left but she came up empty at the line. In fact, the Lady Cats went 0-for-12 at the free throw line in the game.
In the final 2:30, Lain scored twice, Winfield on a post-up move and Knight on a layup after her fifth steal of the game.
LADY HORNETS 38, LADY CHARGING WILDCATS 22
Freshman
BRYANT 13 7 6 12 — 38
No. Little Rock 2 10 10 0 — 22
LADY HORNETS 38
Lain 5-9 3-6 13, Edmonson 1-10 0-0 2, Muse 3-14 4-4 13, Winfield 2-4 1-2 5, Allen 0-2 0-2 0, Knight 2-3 1-2 5, Winston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-42 9-16 38.
LADY CHARGING WILDCATS 22
Tate 2-5 0-0 4, Cooper 1-5 0-2 2, Moore 0-0 0-1 1, Smith 2-7 0-0 5, Evans 4-10 0-7 8, Calhoun 0-0 0-0 0, Baker 0-0 0-0 0, Hall 0-1 0-0 0, Riley 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 1-2 0-2 3. Totals 10-30 0-12 22.
Three-point field goals: Bryant 3-16 (Muse 3-10, Edmonson 0-5, Lain 0-1), North Little Rock 2-7 (Smith 1-3, Wilson 1-2, Tate 0-1, Cooper 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 13, North Little Rock 24. Rebounds: Bryant 16-18 34 (Lain 5-2 7, Winfield 5-2 7, Muse 2-3 5, Allen 1-4 5, Knight 1-4 5, Winston 1-0 1, team 1-3 4), North Little Rock 9-13 22 (Evans 1-4 5, Tate 2-1 3, Moore 2-1 3, Smith 2-1 3, Wilson 1-2 3, Hall 0-1 1, Riley 0-1 1, team 1-2 3). Team fouls: Bryant 10, North Little Rock 11.
