Another late push does in Sheridan
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
The Sheridan Lady Jackets are generally tenacious on defense, capable of hitting you with a barrage of turnovers. On offense, they can burn a stand-around zone with a hail of 3’s or spread a man-to-man defense and utilize their ball-handling skills to drive to the hole.
But the one thing the Lady Jackets are not is tall. Except for 5-10 center Crystal Bean, they are, for the most part, pint-sized.
And that’s what Bryant Lady Hornets head coach Carla Crowder wanted to exploit Tuesday when the two AAAAA-South Conference rivals got together for the second time this season at the Hornets’ Nest.
Crowder started both of her centers Bekka Middleton and 6-1 sophomore Kim Jacuzzi, along with forwards Heather Atkins and Emily Hantz and point guard Ashley Wallis.
Though it took awhile to shake the pesky Lady Jackets, the Lady Hornets finally wore them down 54-40, thanks in part to a 45-25 advantage in rebounding.
Middleton wound up with 15 points and 15 boards, tops in both categories as Bryant improved to 17-4 overall this season and 7-1 in conference play. The Lady Hornets not only kept pace with first-place Pine Bluff (which moved to 8-0 in the league with a win over El Dorado) but increased their cushion over the third-place Lady Jackets who are now 4-4 in the conference, tied with Benton and Texarkana.
Wallis finished with 11 points and sophomore guard Joanie Robideaux, usually a starter, came in off the bench to knock in 11 and gather 7 rebounds.
Sheridan’s top scorer was Ashley Gartman with 9. Bean, who hit the Lady Hornets for 22 in their first meeting, was shackled by cold shooting and foul trouble this time and finished with 7 points and 5 rebounds.
Still, the Lady Jackets were persistent until the fourth quarter.
The game was tied three times in the first quarter, at 7, at 12 and when Lori Baggett hit a short jumper off a feed from Gartman with :27 left in the period, at 14 going into the second.
Sheridan’s last lead was 16-14 when Erin Humphries hit a layup off a feed from Baggett to open the second period. Wallis missed an answer shot but the Lady Hornets jumped into a press and Middleton swiped the ball and dished to Wallis who drove to the basket, scored and drew a foul. The three-point play put Bryant on top 17-16.
After a Sheridan miss, Wallis added a free throw. In turn, Sheridan’s Tia Cure hit 1-of-2 from the line only to have Bryant’s Tiffany Kennedy hit a jumper to up the advantage to 21-17.
The Lady Jackets, however, rallied to tie. It was 22-22 after Chelsey Woodall pumped in a 3 with 3:21 left in the half.
But that was the last time the teams were even. A free throw by Candice Croy put Bryant back on top and when Sheridan’s Kerry Williams missed twice at the line, Jacuzzi took advantage with a bucket inside over the much smaller Baggett.
Middleton added a pair of free throws in the closing moments of the half, giving Bryant a 27-22 lead.
Free throws by Wallis started the second-half scoring. After a flurry of turnovers and missed shots by both teams, Wallis added a layup off a steal to give the Lady Hornets their largest lead to that point at 31-22.
But Sheridan responded. Elizabeth Nelson and Jacuzzi traded baskets then Bean got her first bucket of the night. Moments later, Bean added a free throw and Nelson drove for a layup to cut the lead to 33-29.
Robideaux scored off the offensive glass for Bryant but Baggett answered with a 3 to get the Lady Jackets to within 3.
In turn, Wallis misfired but Croy forced a held ball on the rebound and Bryant retained possession. That resulted in a short jumper by Jacuzzi and the 37-32 lead that held until the end of the period.
The Lady Hornets then gradually started to pull away. Jacuzzi blocked a shot by Nelson and, at the other end, Hantz was fouled. Her free throws made it a 7-point game. Bean missed and Robideaux was fouled. She too came through at the line to expand the margin to 9.
Sheridan then came up empty on back-to-back trips to the free throw line. Instead of whittling as much as 4 points off the lead, the Lady Jackets found themselves trailing 45-34 when Middleton rolled one in off an inbounds pass from Robideaux.
An offensive rebound basket by Hantz made it 47-34 with 4:44 left and Sheridan never really recovered.
Bryant answered every Lady Jacket basket and the margin remained double digits the rest of the way.
