Lady Hornets get back on track at Shootout
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).
HOT SPRINGS — It’s never easy to play a morning game in a basketball tournament. Sometimes it just comes down to which team or which player fully awakens first.
On Saturday, the Bryant Lady Hornets and the Mount St. Mary Belles met in a 10 a.m. game in the Spa City Shootout and Summit Arena. Though it took a while longer than either coach would’ve liked, Bryant’s Brad Matthews got good news first as junior Jakeria Otey came to life in the second quarter, scoring 14 of her game-high 19 points.
Mount went the entire first half without a field goal and Bryant built an 18-3 lead by the intermission on the way to a 37-23 win.
It was a welcome victory for the Lady Hornets who, after winning their first three games of the season, had stumbled in four straight. Now 4-4, they’re set to take on South Conference rival Lake Hamilton in the consolation final on Monday at 1 p.m.
Along with Otey’s 19, Aubree Allen finished with 8, Jayla Anderson and Maddie Baxter 4 each with Erica Smith contributing 2 with a game-high eight rebounds.
Though a focus of Mount’s defense, which limited her to just two shots, senior Peyton Weaver was her usual steadying influence on the court for the Lady Hornets. She also pulled down six boards. Though she injured an ankle midway through the third quarter, she was able to return to the game at crunch time.
Ellie Bilger led the Belles with 10 points, 9 of which came during the third quarter when Mount whittled the Bryant lead to 8 twice. It was 22-14 with 1:55 left in the period. Allen responded with a drive to the rack. When Cynthia Weyrens countered with a jumper for the Belles, Baxter drove to the hoop with time running out and was fouled. With :03.1 on the clock, she converted both free throws to make it 26-16.
That also ignited an 8-0 run for the Lady Hornets who eventually pushed the lead to as much as 16 points. The fourth quarter opened with a three-point play by Allen off a feed from Otey. Moments later, Baxter found Otey in the corner for a 3-pointer and with 5:57 left in the game, Bryant had doubled up the Belles, 32-16.
After that, Allen countered a basket by Jaynee Arrigo with a free throw and, when Monica Alvarez scored, Baxter hit another layup. Bilger converted a free throw with 1:58 left — her only points outside the third quarter — but Anderson drove for a layup to produce the largest margin, 37-21.
Both teams started the game, still under the covers. The only points of the first quarter came on a free throw apiece by Allen and Skylar Costa.
Allen added another free throw early in the second quarter to make it 2-1 and it stayed that way until the 4:22 mark. That’s when Otey hit a short jumper for the first field goal of the game.
She followed up with a pair of quick 3-pointers to make it 10-1. Allen made a steal that led to a layup by Otey.
Halley Burnett interrupted with a pair of free throws for the Belles but Otey finished with a driving jumper and a pair of free throws in the final two minutes of the half. In the closing seconds, Anderson made a steal and drove for a layup to set the 18-3 halftime tally.
Mount’s first field goal came with 5:55 left in the third quarter on a 10-foot jay by Bilger. Smith countered with a pair of free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound. Bailey Weinsinger canned a 15-footer but Otey hit a driving layup as Weaver went down with her ankle injury.
It was 22-7 at that point but that’s when Bilger got going. She sank a 3 then added an eight-foot jumper before posting up for a bucket that had the Belles within 22-14. Matthews called a timeout and his team responded, never letting Mount get any closer.
LADY HORNETS 37, BELLES 23
Score by quarters
BRYANT 1 17 8 11 — 37
Mt. St. Mary 1 2 13 7 — 23
LADY HORNETS 37
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
Otey 7-12 2-3 0-4 4 0 19
Anderson 2-5 0-0 1-2 3 0 4
Weaver 0-2 0-0 0-6 6 0 0
Allen 2-7 4-7 2-5 7 3 8
Smith 0-5 2-2 2-6 8 3 2
Patton 0-0 0-0 2-1 3 1 0
Miller 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
Baxter 1-4 2-2 0-1 1 1 4
Reeves 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 1-1 2
Totals 12-35 10-14 8-26 34 10 37
BELLES 23
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
Weinsinger 1-11 0-0 0-3 3 2 2
Bilger 4-18 1-2 1-2 3 0 10
Weyrens 2-2 0-0 1-4 5 2 4
Arrigo 1-3 0-1 0-1 1 1 2
Burnett 0-2 2-2 2-1 3 4 2
Engnath 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Costa 0-4 1-2 2-3 5 1 1
Alvarez 1-2 0-0 1-2 3 0 2
Walls 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
Rinchuso 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Norris 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Lodge 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 3-1 4
Totals 9-45 4-7 10-18 28 10 23
Three-point field goals: Bryant 3-6 (Otey 3-4, Weaver 0-2), Mount St. Mary 1-6 (Bilger 1-3, Weinsinger 0-2, Alvarez 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 22, Mount St. Mary 19.
