File photo by Kevin Nagle
The Bryant Lady Hornets basketball team will get a chance to play against someone other than each other on Saturday in a pre-season jamboree at the Hornets’ Nest. At 10 a.m., Bryant will play a half against Maumelle. At 10:50, Maumelle will scrimmage Arkadelphia before Bryant and Arkadelphia play for a half starting around 11:40.
The team includes seniors Kelly Williams and Paige Adams, juniors Kalia Walker and Robyn Gordon plus sophomores Tierra Trotter, Sierra Trotter, Tyianna Robinson, Essence Williams, Jada Deaton, India Atkins, Mady Scifres, Celena Martin, Lexie Taylor, Ivory Russ, McKenzie Muse, MeKeycia Baker and Cali Rogers.
“It’s always exciting this time of year to get the season kicked off,” said Lady Hornets head coach Brad Matthews, who will be assisted by Ann Ferguson. “We’ve been working hard, making progress and we’re ready to see someone else.
“We’re young but we’ve got some talent,” he noted. “As we move through the season, it’s about trying to find that talent and put it in the best spots it can be, to where it can be used to the best of our ability. As coaches, we kind of want to mold them as we go along; little things like offensive rebounding, blocking out, transition defense, taking care of the ball.
“We should be better offensively this year because we’ve got some young kids that can score,” the coach added. “We’re excited about the returners we’ve got. We think we’ve got the chance to have a good season.
Gaining experience will be a big part of the pre-conference schedule.
“In every sport, at every level, there’s something to be said for experience,” acknowledged Matthews. “Our kids have experience. Several of them play AAU and they’ve gotten a ton of experience coming through seventh grade, eighth grade, ninth grade here. So, they’re experienced, just not at the high school level.”
The Lady Hornets will take part in the annual Tip-off Classic on Tuesday before officially opening the 2017-18 campaign at White Hall on Thursday, Nov. 9.
