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Kaitlyn Weng has her 3-point try blocked. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
In a game in which they led most of the second half, with 1:58 to go on Monday night, Bryant Lady Hornets freshman guard Kaitlyn Weng hit two free throws to tie the highly-regarded Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves, 36-36.
But much to their frustration, the Lady Hornets were unable to score the rest of the way as the Lady Wolves survived with a 42-36 victory in Central Arkansas Junior High Conference play.
Both teams came in with 1-0 records in league play and they engaged in a contest that was pretty even throughout with the final margin nearly as big as any in the game. Bryant’s largest lead was 4 and Lake Hamilton’s was 7, 13-6 late in the first quarter.
Despite playing at home, the Lady Hornets shot just 14 free throws in the contest, converting eight while Lake Hamilton hit 14 of 27 at the line.
B the opening period was over, Ashton Inman drove for a bucket and Addison Funk beat the buzzer with a basket off a nice pick-and-roll to make it 13-10.
Addison Funk launches a 3-pointer. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
And when Funk hit a 3 to open the second quarter, the game was tied. Hayleigh Wyrick traded baskets with Rachel Buck before Kristyn Weng hit a 3 to put Bryant ahead for the first time in the game, 18-17.
The Lady Wolves pushed ahead 20-18 before Inman banked in a 3 at the buzzer to give the Lady Hornets a 21-20 halftime edge.
Abbey Inman drove for the first basket of the second half and, after a free throw by the Lady Wolves, Ashton Inman knocked down a running jumper to make it 25-21, the largest Bryant lead.
Lake Hamilton surged to a 26-25 edge but Ashton Inman hit her second trey to put the Lady Hornets back in front. It was 29-27 Bryant going into the fourth quarter.
The two teams traded baskets as Funk and Ashton Inman accounted for the Lady Hornets’ points. Bryant led 33-32. The Lady Wolves took the lead with a stickback then extended it with a layup off a Bryant turnover.
Abbey Inman (22) releases a shot over Lake Hamilton’s Tia Mullenix (3). (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
With 2:27 left, Funk hit a free throw to cut the margin to 2 before Kaitlyn Weng went to the line to tie it.
After a Bryant timeout, the Lady Wolves regained the upper hand. But Bryant couldn’t answer. With :55 showing, a free throw made it 39-36. On the missed second shot, Lake Hamilton rebounded twice but couldn’t score. With :48.6 left, the Lady Wolves took a timeout.
Another free throw with :37.3 to go, made it a two-possession game. And when the Lady Hornets turned the ball over again, Wyrick clinched it at the free-throw line.
Wyrick and Aspen Thornton led The Lady Wolves with 13 points each. Aryn Hughes added 9.
For Bryant, Ashton Inman had 14 and Funk 10.
After connecting on 7 of 11 shots from the field in the second and third quarters, the Lady Hornets were just 2 of 10 in the fourth.
Meanwhile, they held the Lady Wolves to 5 of 19 shooting in the second half. But the aggressive Lake Hamilton players got to the line 11 times in the third quarter and 19 times in the second half.
Kristyn Weng follows through on a jumper. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
Bryant will try to bounce back on Thursday when they travel to North Little Rock.
LADY WOLVES 42, LADY HORNETS 36
Score by quarters
Lake Hamilton 13 7 7 15 — 42
BRYANT 10 10 8 7 — 36
LADY WOLVES 42
Thornton 3-7 6-12 13, Higginbotham 1-9 1-4 3, Mullenix 1-8 1-2 4, Wyrick 4-9 5-7 13, Hughes 4-6 1-2 9, Humphreys 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-39 (33%) 14-27 (52%) 42.
LADY HORNETS 36
Ka.Weng 0-4 2-2 2, Kr.Weng 1-3 0-0 3, Ab.Inman 2-5 1-4 5, As.Inman 5-12 2-2 14, Laughlin 0-0 0-0 0, Funk 3-6 3-6 10, Buck 1-1 0-0 2, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Schaefer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-32 (38%) 8-14 (57%) 36.
Three-point field goals: Bryant 4-13 (As.Inman 2-5, Funk 1-3, Kr.Weng 1-2, Ka.Weng 0-3), Lake Hamilton 2-11 (Mullenix 1-3, Thornton 1-2, Higgenbotham 0-4, Wyrick 0-2). Turnovers: Bryant 16, Lake Hamilton 8. Rebounds: Bryant 7-21 28 (Ab.Inman 3-3 6, Funk 0-6 6, Kr.Went 0-3 3, As.Inman 0-3 3, Buck 0-2 2, Jackson 0-1 1, Schaefer 1-0 1, team 3-1 4), Lake Hamilton 13-14 27 (Mullenix 5-2 7, Wyrick 3-3 6, Hughes 2-2 4, Humphreys 2-2 4, Higginbotham 0-3 3, Thornton 0-1 1, team 1-1 2). Team fouls: Bryant 19, Lake Hamilton 12. Fouled out: Ab.Inman.
Head coach Nathan Castaldi instructs the Lady Hornets during a timeout in Monday’s game. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
