If it’d been a 5:20 tipoff instead of 5 o’clock, the Bryant Blue Lady Hornets eighth grade team of Bethel Middle School might’ve been all right. Unfortunately that was not the case.
The Lady Hornets fell behind their counterparts from Conway Blue 12-0 in the first quarter and 22-4 by halftime and it proved to be too much of a hole to climb out of despite a second half in which they outscored the visiting Lady Kittens, 17-10.
The closest Bryant Blue could get was 30-21 before Conway closed out a 32-21 win.[more]
Dezerea Duckworth finished with 8 points to lead Bryant’s comeback. Rori Whittaker added 5 and Erica Smith 4. Keedy Harrison and Kaci Mann each added 2.
The Lady Hornets struggled against Conway’s press in the first half and didn’t score until Smith got a shot inside to go in with 4:58 left in the half. The lead grew to 20-2 before Duckworth made a steal and drove for a layup.
The Lady Hornets forced a turnover to start the second half and Harrison took advantage with an eight-foot jumper to spark a 7-2 start to the third quarter. Duckworth, Smith and Whittaker added free throws during the run.
Conway led 27-13 going into the fourth period.
Mann’s basket cut into that margin but, after the teams scrambled, forcing a number of turnovers both ways, a Conway player connected on a 3-pointer. Bryant kept after it, however. Duckworth followed her own miss and, moments later, made a steal and layup. Whittaker’s baseline jumper followed, cutting the lead to 30-21. But with 1:13 left, there wasn’t enough time to complete the comeback. A late basket by Conway’s point guard set the final score.
The Lady Hornets are scheduled to return to play on Saturday at Little Rock Christian.
