The Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team doubled their point total in the fourth quarter to forge a 32-32 tie then held North Little Rock scoreless in overtime to extract[more] a 37-32 win on Thursday night at the Bryant Middle School gym.
It was Bryant’s fifth win in its last six games. Now 6-3, the Lady Hornets visit Mount St. Mary Academy on Monday, Dec. 13.
The Lady Hornets include Aubree Allen, Jessica Alliston, Andrea Buford, Ashlee Caton, Caylin Choate, Dezarea Duckworth, Kaitlyn Greer, Keedy Harrison, Taylor Matthews, Dee-Dee Mosby, Melinda Murdock, Amber Newman, Destiny Nichols, Brittany Privett, Erica Smith, Rori Whittaker and Alex Wright.
North Little Rock jumped to an 11-6 lead by the end of the first quarter and held a 29-15 advantage at the half. It was still 26-16 going into the final six minutes.
“In the first half, we did not play very well defensively,” noted Lady Hornets coach Nathan Castaldi. “We reached too much and gave them opportunities to beat us off the dribble.
“In the second half, we did a better job of staying in front of them,” he continued. “Aubree Allen started the fourth quarter with a couple of jump shots that got our rally started.”
The Lady Hornets outscored the Lady Charging Wildcats, 16-6, in the final period.
“Melinda Murdock came off the bench in the fourth quarter and really gave us a spark,” Castaldi mentioned. “She got a couple of steals and hit a big three late in the game. Destin Nichols also did a good job the second half. She handled the ball and played good defense.
“In overtime, Rori got open underneath for a lay-up and then we hit some free throws to hold on,” the coach recounted.
Duckworth led Bryant’s offense with 17 points. Murdock finished with 7, Allen 6, Whittaker 5 and Nichols 2.
“Dezerea was her normal self,” Castaldi said. “She scored well for us, but did so within the offense. She also did a much better job defensively in the second half and got some big rebounds late in the game.”
Photos by Kevin Nagle
