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Bryant’s Ivory Russ, right, is fouled as she attacks the basket. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
For the fourth time this season, the Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team held an opponent to single digits. The Cabot North Lady Panthers only managed two field goals and just 12 shot attempts in a 38-8 loss to the Lady Hornets.
The sportsmanship rule (running clock) was in effect for the entire fourth quarter as Bryant led by as much as 33 points late in the third.
Now 14-3 overall and 7-3 in the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference, the Lady Hornets are gearing up for a late run at the league championship. The victory came on the heels of a 46-12 taming of the Benton Lady Panthers on Monday. Bryant hosts Lake Hamilton in its next outing on Thursday, Jan. 19.
“We talked about taking the same momentum we had in the Benton game, to have that energy, that intensity,” said Bryant coach Nathan Castaldi. “And I thought we came out with that. I didn’t think we were as sharp, missing some easy ones in the first quarter but, I thought, the things that we were focusing on we did a good job.
Lexi Taylor twists to get a shot away just before being fouled by Cabot North’s Layne Smith (30). (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
“We’re trying to sharpen things up right now,” he asserted. “Still, some of those things we missed tonight, a couple of things that they were able to do, they might not succeed on but Conway Blue and North Little Rock — those teams that are ahead of us right now that we’re trying to catch, they might. That’s who we’re trying to sharpen things up for.”
The Lady Hornets travel to North Little Rock on Jan. 23 then host Conway Blue on Jan. 26, hoping to avenge previous losses.
Cabot North was only down 2-1 through nearly a half of the first quarter. Tyianna Robinson, who led all scorers with 12 points in the game, scored off an offensive rebound at the 3:06 mark of the opening stanza, starting a 17-0 surge.
After a timeout, Robinson made a steal and layup then added a free throw a few moments later. Another Robinson theft led to Lexi Taylor’s 15-foot jumper. Taylor would finish with 9 points in the game.
Ivory Russ came through with a theft that led to a layup by Tierra Trotter (8 points) to make it 11-1. Robinson scored with :24 left in the quarter then, just before the end of the period, Tierra Trotter made a steal and layup to make it 15-1 going into the second period.
Celena Martin pulls up for a jumper in the lane. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
The onslaught continued with a layup by Taylor after her steal. Trotter added an easy deuce to cap off the initial blitz.
Cabot North broke through with its first field goal of the game with 2:22 left in the first half. It came off a drive by Ashlyn Ball.
In turn, Sierra Trotter swiped the ball and fed Celena Martin, who was fouled at the 1:45 mark. She converted once and it was 20-3. A nice feed from Alivia Allen resulted in a layup for Martin and, in the final minute, Russ added a couple of free throws to make it 24-3 at the half.
To open the third quarter, Robinson drained the only 3-pointer of the night. Russ got the assist by driving and kicking out the ball to Robinson in the corner.
Another layup by Tierra Trotter, a bucket for Robinson and a three-point play by Taylor made it 34-3. In the final minute of the third quarter, Taylor converted a pair of free throws to produce Bryant’s largest lead 36-3.
Cabot North’s first points of the second half and first field goal since the 2:22 mark of the first half, came on a 15-footer by Hannah Ogilvie with :34 left in the third period.
It was the Lady Panthers’ last field goal. They added three free throws in the fourth quarter. Cali Rogers put the finishing touches on the Lady Hornets’ scoring.
LADY HORNETS 38, LADY PANTHERS 8
Score by quarters
Cabot North 1 2 2 3 — 8
BRYANT 15 9 12 2 — 38
LADY PANTHERS 8
Hull 0-0 0-0 0, Ball 1-5 2-4 4, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Wolter 0-0 0-0 0, Killingsworth 0-0 1-4 1, Ogilvie 1-6 1-4 3, Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Honea 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 2-12 4-12 8.
LADY HORNETS 38
T.Trotter 4-13 0-0 8, Oholendt 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 1-3 1-2 3, Robinson 5-7 1-2 12, Russ 0-2 4-6 4, Taylor 3-4 3-3 9, Deaton 0-3 0-0 0, Scifres 0-0 0-2 0, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, S.Trotter 0-0 0-0 0, Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Rogers 1-1 0-0 2, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Harlee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-30 9-15 38.
Three-point field goals: Bryant 1-7 (Robinson 1-1, T.Trotter 0-4, Taylor 0-1, Deaton 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 11, Cabot North 24. Rebounds: Bryant 8-12 20 (Russ 4-1 5, Robinson 1-3 4, T.Trotter 0-2 2, Oholendt 1-1 2, Deaton 2-0 2, Rogers 0-2 2, Scifres 0-1 1, Allen 0-1 1, team 0-1 1), Cabot North 4-11 15 (Killingsworth 2-2 4, Smith 0-3 3, Ogilvie 1-2 3, Wolter 0-1 1, team 1-3 4). Team fouls: Bryant 14, Cabot North 10.
Tyianna Robinson drives around a Cabot North defender. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
