Bryant rallies past Conway to earn bid
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 continue posting 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
Heavens to Kaci Melhorn!
The Bryant Lady Hornets, whose bid to make the Class AAAAA State Tournament appeared to be headed for a last-game decision, nabbed a berth in their second-to-last contest when everything broke their way.
For once.
Bryant, sparked it seemed by the insertion of the seldom-used Melhorn into the lineup, surged to a 43-40 win over the Conway Lady Wampus Cats after trailing by as much as 12 late in the third quarter. That, in itself, was a big step because Conway came in tied for the league lead and fighting to retain at least a share of the AAAAA-Central Conference championship.
In addition, Little Rock Parkview knocked off Little Rock Central. Though predictable, that outcome allowed the Lady Hornets to tie for third in the league with the inside track on being the conference’s third seed to State, thus avoiding a first-round matchup with top-ranked Fort Smith Northside.
And, finally, Little Rock McClellan upended North Little Rock, something of a surprise, eliminating the Lady Charging Wildcats from State contention.
“Everything happened good,” acknowledged Lady Hornets head coach Rhonda Hall.
But it wasn’t going good for much of the first three quarters for Bryant. Senior post Amanda Grappe was carrying the team offensively, scoring 19 of the team’s 23 points on her way to a 23-point, 11-rebound performance in the game.
The Lady Hornets had fallen behind 9-2 early and hadn’t held a lead. It was 21-13 at the half and 31-19 before a pair of baskets — one to beat the buzzer — by Amanda Grappe in the last 40 seconds of the third period.
Melhorn, a 5-foot-5 post player, had entered the game by then. And, though, she didn’t score, she was able to haul down five rebounds in just the fourth quarter. Her contribution, however, went beyond that, Hall agreed.
“Kaci had a little fire in her eye,” said the coach. “She was very aggressive. She wasn’t passive. She was aggressive going for rebounds, aggressive on offense and she went to the boards on offense. She got a few tips.”
Hall also pointed out the importance of the play of Amie Hubbard. A two-guard for much of the season, Hubbard has had to slip into the point guard role since starter Ashley Grappe was lost to injury a week before against North Little Rock.
“Just the little things she started doing,” Hall noted. “She was trying to penetrate and go a little bit deeper. That made a difference for everybody. Just another step into the lane, another dribble deeper. When she did and everybody started shifting (Conway) would collapse each time.
“We also went to a different set,” she mentioned. “We moved everybody outside the three-point line and just waited for cutters, to look for our cutters and make room for them. I think we got three or four layups out of it.”
It also helped that Allison Grappe stepped up offensively. She scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter including a pair of 3-point bombs that proved inspirational.
Bryant trailed 33-25 when Allison Grappe was fouled going for an offensive rebound at the 5:37 mark of the fourth quarter. Allison hit her first free throw but missed the second only to have Amanda track down the rebound and score to whittle the lead to 5.
Bryant’s aggressiveness on the offensive glass paid off again moments later after Conway’s Fran Henderson missed a shot. Amanda Grappe missed on a 3-point try but Robin Speake got the offensive rebound. Allison Grappe missed a 3-point try but Amanda chased down the carom. Though she missed on the follow, Melhorn snapped down the rebound and fed Allison who drilled her first 3 to make it 33-31 with 4:48 left to play.
Hubbard followed up with a steal that led to a free throw by Amanda Grappe, making it a 1-point game.
Over the next minute-plus, the Lady Hornets could make no more headway. But Conway, given three trips to the line (potential for adding 6 more points to the thin lead) managed just 3 points.
That made it possible for Allison Grappe’s second triple to cut it back to a 1-point game with 2:41 left.
Conway then missed three chances to increase the margin, the last with Henderson at the free throw line, but couldn’t get it done. With 1:33 to go, Hubbard hit a layup off a nice give-and-go with Speake and Bryant had its first lead, 37-36.
Conway’s Jolanda Young scored to get the advantage back but Speake fed Allison Grappe for a hoop and the Lady Hornets were up to stay.
Bryant forced a Conway turnover and, with :31.4 showing, Hubbard connected on a pair of pressure-packed free throws in a one-and-one situation.
Conway quickly scored inside with Brittany Greer to make it a 1-point game and called timeout with :14.9 to go. And when play resumed, the Lady Cats got the ball back by preventing Bryant from inbounding the ball within five seconds.
But Conway never got a shot at taking the lead as Amanda Grappe made a splendid play on a steal. She was fouled with :08.9 to go and hit her first free throw. The second caromed out and into the outstretched hands of Speake, who was fouled with :07.4 go play. She made her first shot to make it a 3-point advantage and leaving just enough time for Conway to miss a desperation 3-point try by Wyvonne Hawkins. Melhorn, fittingly enough, wound up with the rebound.
“They hung around long enough where I think they finally believed they could win,” Hall said of her players. “They’ve had some adjustments. They’re all playing somewhere they haven’t been, even the ones that were starting before have a new role (since the injury to Ashley Grappe). It’s been a big change. And I think the longer the game went, the better we did get defensively and offensively. We got more confidant as the game went on. You could see that they started getting that little flicker in their eye that they have when they’re playing good and they’re feeling good about what they’re doing, having fun again.
“You could see that at the end, but it took a long time to find it,” she concluded with a relieved smile.
The win improved the Lady Hornets to 20-6 on the season. They will be the No. 3 team in the conference with a win in their final regular-season game at Mount St. Mary’s (5-17) and/or a Little Rock Central loss at Conway on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
