Bryant eases past Lady Razorbacks
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
With head coach Carla Crowder so ill she was unable to attend, the Bryant Lady Hornets got a bit of a breather Friday night as the down-trodden Texarkana Lady Razorbacks came to town.
When the Lady Hornets visited Texarkana earlier in the season, the Lady Razorbacks were making a last-ditch effort to jump into contention in the AAAAA-South Conference. Bryant point guard Joanie Robideaux was fighting off the flu and the Lady Razorbacks gave the Lady Hornets a battle before falling 59-54.
Since then, though, things have gotten worse for Texarkana which came into Friday’s re-match 0-9 in league play, 4-15 overall.
Conversely, the Lady Hornets appeared to be amidst a resurgence with back-to-back wins that all but insured a State Tournament bid.
All of that combined to produce a 70-43 Bryant victory that, believe it or not, wasn’t even that close. Bryant Junior High coach Stacy Mallett, Lady Hornets’ assistant Mandy McDougal and BJH assistant Monica Parrish called the shots from the bench in Crowder’s stead.
With Candice Croy pouring in five 3-pointers on the way to a 16-point performance to help open things up inside, Bekka Middleton scored 20 and Heather Atkins 13 at the low and high post spots, respectively, to lead the way. Joanie Robideaux pitched in with 11 points.
Croy popped a pair of her 3’s, Middleton scored 7 and Atkins 6 as the Lady Hornets broke out to a 22-7 lead in the first quarter which was capped by a 3 from Robideaux with :09 left.
Texarkana’s Kayla McDole opened the second quarter with a basket inside then Bryant ran off and left the Lady Backs by finishing the half with a 26-2 blitz.
Croy’s third trey started the barrage. Middleton hit a layup and Robideaux cashed in a Texarkana turnover with a short jumper to make it 29-9.
Texarkana’s Cameron Paige scored with 6:14 left in the half then the Lady Backs were shut out the rest of the way.
Middleton hit a layup then put together a three-point play. Robideaux drove for a layup off a steal then, after a Croy theft, added another easy deuce. After another Texarkana turnover, Kim Jacuzzi scored off the offensive glass and Bryant led 40-11.
It was 48-11 at the half and when Atkins gunned in a 15-footer to start the third quarter, the margin was 39.
The largest lead of the game was 42 late in the third quarter. The teams had traded baskets for the most part until McDole scored and was fouled. She missed her free throw but teammate Kansas Scott rebounded and scored to make it 54-18.
After a Bryant timeout, Croy flushed another 3 and, after a free throw by Texarkana’s Shan Collins, Middleton hit a turnaround jay, made a steal and scored to make it 61-19.
The lead was 61-24 going into the final period. The starters played little in the fourth quarter and Texarkana outscored Bryant 19-9 just to get the margin down to the final 27.
Sophomores Andrea Hammock and Aliesha Joyce scored for the Lady Hornets in the late going.
