Photos by Rick Nation and Kevin Nagle
In their preseason scrimmage against the Vilonia Lady Eagles Thursday night, the Bryant Lady Hornets got a couple of scares. In the closing seconds of the first half, senior Aubree Allen, who missed her entire junior season and much of her sophomore year with knee injuries, split a double-team in the post and came down awkwardly. She came out of the game fearing the worst but, after an examination, returned to the floor to start the second half, though head coach Brad Matthews kept her on the bench for a precaution.
Aubree Allen (23) gets position inside on Vilonia’s Jessica Brandon. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
But then, midway through the third quarter, senior Dezerea Duckworth, the team’s leading scorer last year and most experienced player, drove to the hoop and split a pair of defenders. She went down and had to be helped from the court. She was taken to be examined by a doctor and was set for an MRI to determine if there is damage to her knee.
Duckworth had just helped the Lady Hornets rally from a 29-17 deficit late in the second quarter that they whittled to 34-29. Stunned by the loss of their leader, the Lady Hornets faltered a bit and Vilonia took advantage to put together a 13-2 run.
Though Bryant found its bearings later in the half, it was too late to stem the tide as the Lady Eagles finished off a 59-39 win.
Matthews wouldn’t comment on Duckworth’s injury until the MRI results came back but he was obviously concerned.
He did talk about the game, saying, “I thought the kids were ready to play. I thought we had a good first quarter, quarter and a half. I thought defensively, we hit a little lull there in the second quarter and gave up some easy baskets. That allowed them to get some momentum.
“But we fought back to make it a game at halftime,” he continued. “The same thing happened in the third quarter. They made some shots then we had some breakdowns. It kind of snowballed on us.
“I was proud of our kids’ effort,” the coach emphasized. “We kept fighting. We’ll come back on Friday and get back to work, trying to get better.”
Bryant senior Dezerea Duckworth drives between Vilonia’s McKenzie Morris (32) and Kelly Teer (44). (Photo by Rick Nation)
The Lady Hornets will officially open the season on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock.
Duckworth and junior Jakeria Otey finished with 9 points to lead the team in scoring. Peyton Weaver added 7.
Vilonia, which scorched the nets at a 71 percent clip from the field (12-of-17) in the first half, was led in the game by McKenzie Morris with 12. Cacy Simpson added 10 including a trio of 3-pointers.
Otherwise, the Lady Hornets held their own, forcing 22 turnovers and rebounding right with the taller Lady Eagles with 23 boards to 22.
It was significant that Allen scored the first 2 points of the game. With a 3 by Weaver and a pair of free throws by Duckworth, the Lady Hornets led 7-4. That’s when Simpson hit her first triple. After Duckworth hit a running jumper, Carly Whitehead knocked down another 3 for the Lady Eagles giving them their first lead at 10-9. Otey hit a free throw to make it a tied game going into the second quarter.
Sophomore Rachel Miller hit a short jumper early in the second that had the Lady Hornets within 14-12 but that’s when Vilonia got a run together, spurred by Jessica Brandon scoring as she was fouled then, when she missed the free throw, Morris rebounded and scored to make it 18-12.
It was 22-12 before Duckworth put together a three-point play to get the Lady Hornets back on track. Still, Bryant trailed 29-17 going into the final minute when Otey made a steal and earned a trip to the free-throw line. She converted twice and, after another Vilonia turnover, Allen was fouled as she dinged her knee. Weaver came in to hit a free throw and, moments later, Erica Smith scored to cut the lead to 29-22 at the half.
Bryant’s Erica Smith (25) comes out to guard Vilonia’s Jessica Brandon (34). (Photo by Rick Nation)
Audrey Moran drained a 3 to start the second half for Vilonia, but Otey added two free throws and, after Morris scored off an inbounds play, Duckworth scored. She followed up with an assist, driving and kicking, on Weaver’s troika that had the Lady Hornets within 5 with 4:48 left in the third.
Simpson, however, drilled another 3 as she was fouled at the other end. At the other end, play was stopped after Duckworth’s injury.
When play resumed, the Lady Hornets suffered a turnover and Kelly Teer, in off the bench, knocked down a 3 for the Lady Eagles. Vilonia led 44-31 at the end of the quarter and a three-point play by Moran to start the fourth bumped the margin to 16.
Sophomore Annie Patton countered with a 3 but by the time the Lady Hornets scored again on a stickback by Miller with 4:27 left, Vilonia extended the margin to 57-34.
LADY EAGLES 59, LADY HORNETS 39
Score by quarters
Vilonia 10 19 15 15 — 59
Bryant 10 12 9 8 — 39
LADY EAGLES 59
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
McNesty 2-2 0-0 0-1 1 4 4
Schnebelen 2-4 0-1 0-1 1 0 5
Moran 3-6 2-3 1-2 3 1 9
Morris 6-8 0-0 0-2 2 2 12
Brandon 1-2 4-5 2-0 2 2 6
Wader 0-0 0-2 0-3 3 1 0
Teer 3-4 1-1 1-0 1 1 8
Clower 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Simpson 3-4 1-1 2-2 4 1 10
Whitehead 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 3
Brantley 1-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2
Hill 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Skouras 0-3 0-0 0-2 2 1 0
Team 0-3 3
Totals 22-40 8-14 6-16 22 17 59
LADY HORNETS 39
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
Duckworth 3-6 3-4 2-0 2 3 9
Otey 1-9 7-10 1-0 1 2 9
Weaver 2-6 1-2 0-1 1 1 7
Allen 1-4 0-0 0-1 1 0 2
Smith 1-2 0-0 2-3 5 1 2
Anderson 0-0 1-2 1-1 2 3 1
Baxter 0-1 2-3 0-1 1 1 2
Patton 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 2 3
Miller 2-2 0-0 1-2 3 2 4
Earls 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
McKnight 0-0 0-0 0-2 2 0 0
Reeves 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
Barber 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-4 4
Totals 11-31 14-22 8-15 23 18 39
Three-point field goals: Bryant 3-9 (Weaver 2-6, Patton 1-1, Otey 0-1, Baxter 0-1), Vilonia 7-20 (Simpson 3-4, Moran 1-4, Schnebelen 1-3, Whitehead 1-2, Teer 1-1, Clower 0-3, Skouras 0-2, Hill 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 23, Vilonia 22.
