Lady Hornets claim 20th win, fending off Van Buren
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
By Rob Patrick
It may have been a rare Saturday afternoon game but it was a typically rugged game in the 7A-Central Conference when the Van Buren Lady Pointers and the Bryant Lady Hornets made up their game which was snowed out Tuesday.
The game featured 43 fouls and 51 free throws but the Lady Hornets got the better of it, never trailing on the way to a 70-44 victory that kept them in second place in the league at 8-2 going into Tuesday’s home game against third-place Conway. It was Bryant 20th win overall this season in 23 games.
Abbi Stearns led the way with 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Hannah Goshien added 11 points, Alana Morris 9. Taylor Neal came off the bench in the late going to score 8 points.
The game was punctuated by a 3-pointer from half-court by sophomore Casey Lee.
The frustrated Lady Pointers came into the game after losing at Mount St. Mary Academy on Friday night, 58-40. They spent the night in Little Rock in order to avoid the long drive two days in a row. The Lady Hornets, meanwhile, traveled to Russellville on Friday, getting back home late.
Van Buren continued to cling to sixth place, the final slot from the league for the Class 7A State Tournament, which will be played in the Lady Pointers’ arena. They played with much more aggressiveness and intensity than they had when the two teams met at Van Buren earlier in the season.[more]
Four of the Lady Pointers’ five starters fouled out of the game as they struggled to keep the Lady Hornets from attacking the basket.
At one point, Van Buren coach Merrill Mankin came off the bench and walked onto the floor to the opposite front court after an exchange between his Keri Arnold and Bryant’s Shanika Johnson. Arnold rushed out to guard Johnson and bumped her, drawing a foul. Johnson, turned to clear with her right elbow high and made contact with Arnold inspiring Mankin’s march. Usually a move that draws an ejection, Mankin drew a technical protesting no foul being called on Johnson, but stayed around.
That came during a stretch in which the Lady Hornets pushed out to a commanding lead.
Down by 7 at the half, the Lady Pointers were hanging around as the lead fluctuated from 9 to 11 for much of the third quarter. It was 38-29 with 4:21 left in the period after a driving layup by Arnold, who led her team with 20 points.
Morris fed Johnson for a basket and, moments later, added a pair of free throws herself to extend the margin to 13, the largest of the game to that point for Bryant.
After a pair of missed by the Lady Pointers, the technical allowed Johnson to increase the margin to 15.
Bryant led 45-31 going into the fourth period. After Haley Montgomery hit two free throws for Bryant, Mallory Brown scored for Van Buren. The Lady Hornets began to gradually pull away. After Stearns blocked a shot, she was fouled at the other end and knocked down two free throws as Brown fouled out.
Moments later, she fed Morris for a bucket that make it 51-33.
Arnold interrupted but two more charity tosses by Montgomery were followed up by a free throw from Goshien that made it a 19-point advantage.
Another Arnold layup was answered by a drive to the hoop by Goshien.
Neal entered the game and knocked down a 3, getting knocked to the floor after the shot. She was awarded two free throws on top of the trey and knocked them down for a 5-point offensive trip.
The Bryant lead was 61-37 and both coaches began to clear the benches. Brittney Ball, Reagan Barker and Neal added to the Bryant advantage before Lee’s buzzer-beater.
Baskets by Stearns and Kenzee Calley got Bryant off to a 4-0 start. Van Buren eventually got within 5-4 and the Lady Pointers had one shot to take the lead. But Brown’s 3-point try rimmed out. Stearns scored inside and Morris hit two free throws as the Lady Hornets once again established the upper hand.
They led 13-8 going into the second quarter. Stearns added a basket inside, Johnson hit a free throw then Montgomery fed Stearns for a bucket to give Bryant its first double-digit lead with 6:31 left in the half, 18-8.
Van Buren cut it to 9 then Bryant pushed it to 12. Van Buren’s Alyssa Harris hit a 3 and, after Arnold and Bryant’s Brooke Parish traded free throws, Kirbey Blake knocked down a pair of the stripe to trim the lead to 27-20 going into the intermission.
Goshien and Arnold traded 3’s to start the third quarter. Goshien was then fouled on a 3-point try and converted two of her three free throws. Calley followed up with a 15-footer that put Bryant up 34-23. From there, the lead went from 11 to 9 three times before the Lady Hornets started pulling away.
LADY HORNETS 70, LADY POINTERS 44
Score by quarter
Van Buren 8 12 11 13 — 44
BRYANT 13 14 18 26 — 70
LADY POINTERS (10-14, 3-7) 44
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
Arnold 8-21 3-4 3-2 5 2 20
Tucker 1-2 0-0 3-2 5 5 2
Blake 2-12 4-8 2-5 7 5 8
Jones 1-2 0-0 1-3 4 5 2
Brown 2-7 0-0 1-2 3 5 4
Alexander 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Richeson 1-5 0-0 0-0 0 1 3
Harris 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 3
Weisenfells 0-0 0-1 0-3 3 0 0
Rhymes 0-1 2-2 0-0 0 0 2
Garcia 0-3 0-0 1-1 2 2 0
Heckman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team2-5 7
Total 16-56 9-15 10-23 33 27 44
LADY HORNETS (20-3, 8-2) 70
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
Montgomery 1-3 4-4 0-0 0 4 6
Goshien 3-9 3-5 4-1 5 1 11
Calley 3-5 1-2 2-2 4 3 7
Stearns 7-9 2-2 3-6 9 3 16
Morris 2-3 5-7 1-7 8 2 9
Parish 0-1 1-2 1-2 3 0 1
Johnson 1-13 4-6 0-1 1 2 6
Neal 2-5 3-4 1-1 2 0 8
Ball 0-0 1-2 0-0 0 0 1
Lee 1-3 0-2 1-3 4 1 3
Barker 1-2 0-0 2-1 3 1 2
Abernathy 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Hogancamp 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sory 0-1 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
Team 2-6 8
Total 21-55 24-36 17-31 48 16 70
Three-point field goals: Van Buren 3-14 (Arnold 1-7, Harris 1-3, Richeson 1-2, Brown 0-1, Garcia 0-1), Bryant 4-15 (Goshien 2-5, Neal 1-2, Lee 1-1, Johnson 0-5, Montgomery 0-2). Turnovers: Van Buren 15, Bryant 14. Technical fouls: Van Buren coach Menkin.
