By Rob Patrick
Photos by Rick Nation and Kevin Nagle
There’s no way to know what it’s like to compete at the Class 7A level of high school basketball before taking on the task. On an average night, a team will face[more] better athletes and more of them. Because of the abilities of the players, it’s usually a rougher game because if they were officiated like games at the lower classifications, there might not be anybody left to play at the end. Everybody would probably foul out. And the contests would turn into free-throw shooting contests and take forever.
But, there, just saying it isn’t enough to show newcomers what it’s like.
The Bryant Lady Hornets, as talented as they obviously are — enough to win all of their pre-conference games including a trio of tournament championships — still entered play in the 7A/6A-Central Conference with just one player that had experienced what it was like.
Before they could gather their bearings, the Lady Hornets had lost three straight league games with the specter of the defending State champion and undefeated North Little Rock Lady Charging Wildcats looming.
With head coach Blake Condley hoping but wary about when and if his young team would get it, would realize what it takes, the Lady Hornets pushed North Little Rock to the end on Tuesday night before succumbing 48-40.
It was a fourth consecutive loss but it may well be a turning point in the season for the Lady Hornets. They’ll get a chance to confirm that on Friday when they travel to Little Rock Central for what has turned into a crucial contest with Bryant just a game out of last place.
Though Condley was pleased with his team’s effort and, perhaps, a little relieved. He admitted to scolding his team a bit after the game.
“I told them that if we had brought that effort the previous three games then maybe we’re not in the situation we’re in right now,” he explained. “But I said, hey, we’re having to learn some lessons the hard way. Hopefully, we’ll see that this is the effort we need every night. This is what you need to bring, and we can play with anybody. We can play with any team that we’re going to play. We’re not going to play one better than who we went toe-to-toe with tonight.”
Indeed, they did go toe-to-toe with the Lady Cats and they did it to a great extent with defense as they held North Little Rock’s star duo of point guard Jerica James to 9 points and post player Lexus Williams to just 4.
But North Little Rock got 11 from Xena King and 10 from Sandy Jackson. And James, who missed her first five free throws in the game found the mark just in time to convert 3 of 4 in the final minute to help secure the win.
Bryant was within 40-38 after a driving jumper by senior Abbi Stearns with 4:02 to play then got three chances to tie it or take the lead. But turnovers resulted each time. The last of those came on a steal by Kayla Brown leading to a layup by Jackson that made it a two-possession game with 1:46 to go.
Down 4, the Lady Hornets got an open look for sophomore Kiara Moore on a 3-pointer that wouldn’t drop. But, with 1:10 left, James missed the front end of a one-and-one. Moore was fouled with :58.6 to go but, on a one-and-one, her first try refused to go.
James was fouled again with :52.9 showing and, this time, she converted twice to make it 44-38.
Much to their frustration, the Lady Hornets got two shots under the basket but couldn’t get either of them to fall and James added another free throw with :28.3 showing as Moore fouled out.
And when James missed the second shot on that trip to the line, the Lady Wildcats forced a held ball on the rebound and retained possession. King hit a free throw with :23 to go. McKenzie Adams, who led all scorers with 19 points, drove for a hoop to get the Lady Hornets within 46-40 with a timeout at the :15 mark.
That broke a 3:47 stretch in which Bryant went scoreless.
Two free throws by Jackson with :14.1 on the clock sealed Bryant’s fate as North Little Rock improved to 17-0 overall and 5-0 in conference play in what was, no doubt, one of their closest calls of the season.
Said Condley of the tell-tale dry spell, “A quick shot here and there, a turnover, a breakdown on defense — just some little things that we were able to avoid most of the game. But you can’t hit that spell against a good team like that.
“Again, I think some of that comes to, mentally, being able to finish, being able to focus for the whole 32 minutes instead of just 30 minutes or 28 minutes,” he added. “We’re getting closer. We’re still just not quite there yet. Hopefully, we can put it together and, Friday night, we’ll get it.”
The final margin was the largest lead of the game for either team. North Little Rock had an 11-6 lead after the first quarter thanks to late baskets by Robnecia Taylor and Alex Hale.
Adams, however, started the second quarter with a basket as she was fouled. Though she missed the free throw, teammate London Abernathy was fouled on the carom. She went to the line and converted twice to cut the lead to 11-10. North Little Rock turned the ball over and Stearns buried a 3 to put the Lady Hornets ahead for the first time.
Williams and Stearns traded baskets but then, sparked by Jackson, North Little Rock pushed back into the lead and held a 21-19 edge at the half.
The second half started with Moore taking a charge on a drive to the basket by King. Adams took advantage by drained a 3 to put the Lady Hornets up 22-21. The teams traded baskets in quick succession. With 6:00 left, a bucket inside by Breanna Blundell had the Lady Hornets up 26-25.
The two teams scrambled for the next two minutes until, with 3:28 left in the quarter, Williams apparently expressed her frustration and was hit with a technical. And, in response, North Little Rock head coach Daryl Fimple was teed up too.
Stearns went to the line for Bryant and converted the first two shots and appeared to be unaware that there were two more coming. After walking away, she was called back to the line for the second set of two only to have both shots rim out.
And when the Lady Hornets, on the subsequent possession, turned the ball over, they had managed to get just 2 points in a situation where they could’ve had 6 or 7.
And the technicals served to fire up the Lady Cats and their fans. James hit a jumper then Williams blocked a shot by Stearns and, at the other end, King hit the offensive glass for a bucket.
A Bryant timeout failed to slow the momentum as King canned a 12-footer and Brown added a free throw to make it 32-28.
Moore, however, came through with a clutch basket on a driving bankshot in the final seconds of the quarter and Bryant trailed by just 2 going into the final period.
The Lady Hornets had weathered the storm.
On a basket by Stearns, who finished with 11 points, and free throws by Moore and Adams, Bryant pulled even at 36 with 5:05 to play. Taylor scored inside for the Lady Cats then King blocked a shot by Blundell. On offense, King missed from 3-point range but, agonizingly, the carom went out of bounds off Bryant and, with 4:15 to play, Brown connected twice from the free-throw line. Stearns followed with a driving jumper for a bucket that had her team within 40-38 but the Lady Hornets’ drought commenced at that point.
Bryant is now 14-4 overall, 1-4 in conference play heading to Central.
LADY CHARGING WILDCATS 48, LADY HORNETS 40
Score by quarters
North Little Rock 11 10 11 16 — 48
BRYANT 6 13 11 10 — 40
LADY CHARGING WILDCATS (17-0, 5-0) 48
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
Brown 1-2 4-6 0-2 2 3 6
Jackson 4-10 2-2 2-1 3 0 10
King 5-9 1-4 2-3 5 2 11
James 3-9 3-9 0-1 1 2 9
Williams 2-6 0-0 2-3 5 4 4
Taylor 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 4 6
Slocum 0-1 0-0 0-1 1 1 0
Hale 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 1 2
Team 2-4 6
Totals 19-41 10-21 8-16 24 17 48
LADY HORNETS (14-4, 1-4) 40
Player fg-fta ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
Adams 6-14 6-9 2-7 9 3 19
Moore 1-5 2-3 2-1 3 5 4
Abernathy 0-4 2-2 3-2 5 4 2
Stearns 4-7 2-4 0-5 5 3 11
Blundell 2-4 0-0 1-3 4 3 4
Hogancamp 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Davis 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Davidson 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Team 1-0 1
Totals 13-35 12-19 9-18 27 19 40
Three-point field goals: Bryant 2-8 (Adams 1-2, Stearns 1-1, Abernathy 0-3, Moore 0-1, Davis 0-1), North Little Rock 0-7 (James 0-3, King 0-2, Brown 0-1, Slocum 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 15, North Little Rock 7. Technical fouls: North Little Rock, Williams, Coach Fimple.
