PEARCY — The Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team out-scored the Arkadelphia Lady Badgers 22-4 in the first quarter and rolled to a 43-23 win in their opener at the annual Kameron Hale Invitational Tournament at Lake Hamilton High School on Thursday.
Lauren Lain had 11 points and Natalie Edmonson, who was named the player of the game, added 7 to lead the Lady Hornets, who improved to 8-1 on the season and advanced to a semifinal game against Mena on Friday at 3 p.m. Mena shocked Benton, handing the Lady Panthers their first loss of the season.
“We played about as good a first quarter as we could, especially after such a long break,” said Lady Hornets coach Nathan Castaldi. “We were active defensively, which led to some easy buckets. And we executed on offense really well.
“It was a good first game back and let us get back in the swing of things before the rest of the tournament,” he added.
Emileigh Muse and Haya Winfield scored 6 points each while Jaelyn Allen, Mia Winston and Jayla Knight scored 4 apiece. Lyniyae Johnson hit a free throw.
After building the big lead in the first quarter, the Lady Hornets held a 26-10 halftime advantage. It was 39-11 going into the fourth quarter.
