For more photos of this event by Kevin Nagle, go here
PEARCY — Ordinarily a deliberate team on offense, the Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves freshman team seemed to be slowing down a little extra as their Central Arkansas Junior High Conference game against the Bryant Lady Hornets began on Thursday evening at Wolves Arena.
It may have slowed the Lady Hornets down some, but it didn’t help the Lady Wolves score as Bryant ran out to a 15-2 lead by late in the second quarter.
It did, however, allow the Lady Wolves to keep it close once they did hit a couple of shots. But they never led in the game as the Lady Hornets forged a 27-21 win.
Bryant improves to 2-1 in the league, 13-2 overall this season going into a game next Thursday at home against Mount St. Mary Academy.
The Lady Hornets are the lone 2-1 team in the conference at this point. Conway Blue, Benton and Cabot North each remain unbeaten.
Lake Hamilton dropped to 1-2.
Lauren Lain led the Lady Hornets with 7 points. Emileigh Muse and Jayla Knight added 5 each, Haya Winfield 4 (to go with nine rebounds).
Defensively, Lake Hamilton used a press to actually slow down Bryant’s offensive efforts.
Bryant built a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, but it took all but the last 57 seconds to get it done. Muse had two free throws and Lain had two baskets.
The Lady Wolves didn’t score until there remained just 17 seconds in the opening period.
Haya Winfield added two free throws with just over a second left to make it 8-2 and start a 9-0 run.
Early in the second quarter, Muse hit three free throws then made a steal that led to a driving jumper for Lyniyiae Johnson. Knight’s steal led to two free throws and the 15-2 lead.
By the way, the Lady Hornets were 12 of 15 from the charity stripe in the game, a far cry from the 3 of 18 performance they struggled through in their lone league loss to Conway Blue on Jan. 9.
Lake Hamilton closed the gap to 15-8 at intermission then scored the first two points of the third quarter to make it a 5-point game. But because of the pace, it seemed like the margin was much larger.
A three-point play by Lain on a drive to the hoop was followed by an offensive-rebound bucket for Winfield that had Bryant up by 10 going into the final minute of the third quarter.
It was 22-12 going into the fourth.
A three-point play allowed Lake Hamilton to close the gap again and the margin was just 24-17 going into the last two minutes. The Lady Wolves had a chance to get closer, but Natalie Edmonson made a steal for the Lady Hornets that she cashed in for her team’s lone 3-pointer o the game.
That sealed the deal with 1:21 left. The Lady Hornets scored two baskets in the final minute to set the final score.
LADY HORNETS 27, LADY WOLVES 21
Freshman
Score by quarters
BRYANT 8 7 7 5 — 27
Lake Hamilton 2 6 4 9 — 21
LADY HORNETS 27
Lain 3-9 1-1 7, Edmonson 1-7 0-0 3, Muse 0-3 5-5 5, Winfield1-4 2-2 4, Allen 0-0 1-3 1, Knight 1-2 3-4 5, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Winston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 7-26 (27%) 12-15 (80%) 27.
LADY WOLVES 21
Clark 0-4 1-2 1, Hughes 1-6 0-0 2, Smith 0-3 0-0 0, Braughton 4-7 3-3 11, Pielemier 1-10 4-4 7, Macon 0-3 0-0 0, Hunter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 6-34 (18%) 8-9 (89%) 21.
Three-point field goals: Bryant 1-3 (Edmonson 1-2, Muse 0-1), Lake Hamilton 1-8 (Pielemier 1-4, Smith 0-3, Hughes 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 15, Lake Hamilton 13. Rebounds: Bryant 9-18 27 (Winfield 5-4 9, Muse 0-4 4, Lain 3-0 3, Edmonson 0-2 2, Knight 0-2 2, Johnson 0-2 2, Allen 0-1 1, team 1-3 4), Lake Hamilton 9-10 19 (Clark 3-2 5, Smith 0-4 4, Pielemier 0-4 4, Braughton 3-0 3, Macon 2-0 2, Hughes 1-0 1). Team fouls:Bryant 10, Lake Hamilton 13.
