The Bryant Lady Hornets get a chance to pull off another stunner when they open the Class 7A State Tournament in Conway on Thursday at 4 p.m., against the North Little Rock Lady Charging Wildcats.
Earlier this season, the Lady Hornets upset the Benton Lady Panthers, 51-50, in a game that ultimately made the difference in the Lady Panthers sharing the South Conference championship and winding up tied for second.
In North Little Rock, Bryant faces a team that tied West Memphis for the league title in the East Conference but wound up seeded third because of the ratings points system, behind Fort Smith Northside, the Central Conference champs, and West Memphis. So the Lady Charging Wildcats missed out on a first-round bye and will take on the Lady Hornets, who nailed down the sixth seed from the West in the final week of the regular season.
North Little Rock went 21-6 during the regular season. Bryant was 8-16.
“This time of year, everybody’s even, no matter what you’ve done or not done,” stated Lady Hornets coach Brad Matthews. “We look at it as a great opportunity. I think our kids are eager and excited. North Little Rock’s a really talented team but we’ll go up there with a good game plan and I think we’ll play hard and compete. We’ll be ready to play well.”
Bryant has overcome its share of adversity to get to State, starting with the loss for the season of senior Dezerea Duckworth, who led the team in scoring in 2012-13. They got a lift from the return of senior Aubree Allen, who basically missed a season and a half with knee injuries that resulted in a pair of surgeries. The emergence of junior point guard Jakeria Otey has been vital as well.
Seniors Erica Smith and Peyton Weaver have had solid seasons and junior Jayla Anderson has been a stopper on defense. Off the bench, junior Maddie Baxter and sophomore Rachel Miller have contributed. Another sophomore, Annie Patton, was starting to play well when she suffered an arm injury that cut her season short.
“We’ve continued to have good practices throughout,” Matthews noted. “Our preparation has been good. Our execution hasn’t always been where we wanted but our kids continue to come to practice ready to work and get ready for the next game. I think people could see that as we advanced through the season. Our kids kept getting better. We played much better the second time through the conference. That’s a credit to our kids’ willingness to stick to it and not give in.”
North Little Rock has been a statewide power for several years now and Matthews asserted that this year’s squad is typical.
“They’re really athletic and have really good guards, really skilled,” he said. “They’ve got a couple of big kids down low that can hurt you. They’re really talented and really well coached. It’ll be a challenge but a challenge we’ll be looking forward to.”
CLASS 7A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Buzz Bolding Arena, Conway High School
Girls
Thursday, March 6
Game 1 — Springdale Har-Ber (19-8) (West 4) vs. Little Rock Central (21-5) (Central 5), 1 p.m.
Game 3 — Bryant (8-16) (West 6) vs. North Little Rock (21-6) (Central 3), 4 p.m.
Game 5 — Conway (23-5) (Central 4) vs. Rogers (9-16) (West 5), 7 p.m.
Friday, March 7
Game 7 — Springdale (15-10) (West 3) vs. Fort Smith Southside (16-8) (Central 6), 1 p.m.
Game 9 — Fort Smith Northside (23-3) (Central 1) vs. game 1 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 11 — Bentonville (18-8) (West 2) vs. game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 8
Game 13 — Fayetteville (20-5) (West 1) vs. game 5 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 15 — West Memphis (20-7) (Central 2) vs. game 7 winner, 7 p.m.
Monday, March 10
Game 17 — Game 9 winner vs. game 11 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 19 — Game 13 winner vs. game 15 winner, 6 p.m.
