Lady Hornets make State with help from Rogers
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 continue posting 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).
EL DORADO — It may not have been the way they would’ve liked to clinch a spot in the Class 7A State Tournament but the Bryant Lady Hornets will take it. For the sixth year in a row, they’ll be competing at State after the Rogers Lady Mounties beat crosstown rival Rogers Heritage Tuesday night to eliminate the Lady War Eagles and pave the way for Bryant to clinch the sixth seed from the West to the tournament which will begin on Wednesday, March 5, at Buzz Bolding Arena in Conway.
The bid came despite a 53-25 loss at the hand of the 24-3 El Dorado Lady Wildcats on Senior Night there.
The Lady Hornets will play at 4 p.m., on the opening day of State. They’ll face the third seed from the Central.
Against El Dorado, the game got away from the Lady Hornets when they scored just 3 points in the second quarter. They were 3 of 21 from the field in the first half and the misses included some from near the hoop. It looked like they were shooting, at times, with one eye on the basket and the other on El Dorado’s 6-3 senior post player, Taylor McCool.
Bryant’s Peyton Weaver connected on a 3-pointer three minutes into the game to give her team a 3-2 lead but Yasmine Jones and Keshaunna Jackson knocked down back-to-back triples to put the Lady Wildcats on top for good.
Aubree Allen cut the margin to 8-5 with a 10-foot jumper but before Jakeria Otey converted a pair of free throws in the final seconds, El Dorado had pushed the lead to 14-5.
The 7-point edge the Lady Wildcats enjoyed at the end of the opening period expanded as they scored the first 10 points of the second quarter. McCool’s three-point play got it going. Tasheanne Armstrong drained a trey and added a drive to the hoop to make it 24-7 before Otey’s layup interrupted. Jones followed her own miss and score as El Dorado went on to lead 28-10 at the half.
Bryant trailed by 22 early in the third quarter but rallied within 18 midway through the period. Otey hit a driving jumper and Allen converted twice at the free-throw line. After McCool scored off a lob, Allen fed Jayla Anderson for a short jumper to make it 34-16.
By the end of the quarter, however, the Lady Wildcats had pushed it back to 22, 45-23.
Bryant scored just 2 points in the fourth quarter, both free throws by Otey. She led the team with 8 points. Weaver and Allen finished with 6 each, Anderson 4 and Maddie Baxter 1. Allen also collected a team-high seven rebounds. As a team, the Lady Hornets finished with 19.
But El Dorado hauled down with 39 rebounds including 16 on the offensive end. McCool had 10 boards to go with her 13 points. Jones finished with 11 points and 11 caroms.
