Lady Hornets salve wounds from Pine Bluff loss by breezing past Fair
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 continueposting 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).
By Rob Patrick
Photos by Rick Nation
After losing at Pine Bluff on a last-second shot, the Bryant Lady Hornets needed a break, needed[more] something to go right, regardless of what team they were playing on Friday night.
As it turned out, they just happened to be playing perhaps the state’s most accommodating foe in the Little Rock J.A. Fair Lady War Eagles. The sadly hapless Lady War Eagles haven’t won a game since the fall of 2008. Their 61-14 loss to Bryant was the team’s 10th in as many games this season and, since that last win, Fair has now lost over 100 games in a row.
It was bad enough that the coaches agreed to play just six-minute quarters in the second half, instead of the standard eight minutes. The mercy rule was already in effect with Bryant up 39-5.
The game served as a chance for the Lady Hornets to not only post their first 7A/6A-South Conference win but get some extended playing time for bench players.
Ten of the 13 players that got into the game contributed to the scoring. Peyton Weaver led the team with 12 points. Kristin Scarlett and Courtney Davidson added 10 each. Sophomore Jayla Anderson picked up 7 points while tracking down a game-high 8 rebounds.
Bryant’s starters played until it was 18-3. Davidson, Dezerea Duckworth, Whitney Meyer, Erica Smith and Logan Davis each scored along the way. The group made five steals during that opening salvo. Davidson and Duckworth had two apiece.
Lady Hornets head coach Brad Matthews subbed five players with 2:20 left in the first quarter. Destin Nichols, Haley Murphy and Anderson pushed the lead to 24-3 by the end of the quarter with Anderson and Weaver both picking up steals.
Ta’Nia Williams had all 3 of Fair’s points on her way to a team-high 7 points.
“I thought we were able to get out early in transition, get some easy baskets, get a little confidence,” Matthews observed. “After that heartbreaker on Tuesday, I thought it was good to get a win, get that one behind us.
“Now, we’ve got a big week next week with Sheridan,” he noted. “Every night in this conference is going to be a fight so as we get past this one and look forward, we’ve got to make sure that we try to build on the momentum we get out of this and move forward, make sure we’re ready for Sheridan on Tuesday.”
The Lady Hornets host the Lady Jackets on Jan. 15.
Bryant’s starters returned for a brief stint in the second quarter. Smith scored off a lob, Davis drove for a layup, Davidson drained a pair of free throws and Duckworth hit a layup to make it 32-3.
The second five re-entered, marking the end of the night for the starting five except for a few more minutes for Smith in the second half.
Scarlett scored inside to keep Bryant’s second-quarter run going. Weaver knocked down a pair of free throws and it was 36-3 before Williams provided her team’s lone points of the period.
Scarlett would add a free throw and another inside score to set the halftime score.
It was 47-9 going into the fourth quarter, thanks to a three-point play by Anderson and baskets by Scarlett and Smith.
Weaver drained a pair of 3’s in the final period. She and Anderson had layups and Scarlett finished off the game with an easy 2 inside.
LADY HORNETS 61, LADY WAR EAGLES 14
Score by quarters
BRYANT 24 16 8 14 — 61
J.A. Fair 3 2 4 5 — 14
LADY HORNETS (7-10, 1-2) 61
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
Duckworth 3-4 0-0 0-2 2 0 6
Davis 2-5 0-0 1-0 1 0 4
Davidson 3-6 4-6 2-3 5 0 10
Smith 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 6
Meyer 1-1 0-0 1-1 2 2 2
Nichols 1-4 0-2 0-4 4 1 2
Anderson 3-6 1-1 5-3 8 1 2
Scarlett 4-6 2-4 1-1 2 2 10
Weaver 3-11 4-5 1-0 1 1 12
Murphy 1-1 0-4 3-3 6 1 2
Baxter 0-4 0-0 2-2 4 0 0
Barber 0-1 0-0 0-1 1 1 0
Earls 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 1-5 6
Totals 24-53 11-22 17-25 42 9 61
LADY WAR EAGLES (0-10, 0-3) 14
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls pts
o-d-t
Raglan 0-10 2-2 0-2 2 1 2
Miller 0-4 0-0 1-1 2 2 0
Williams 3-22 1-2 0-4 4 3 7
Gaines 2-3 1-3 2-3 5 4 5
Long 0-2 0-0 4-0 4 1 0
Broadway 0-0 0-0 1-4 5 4 0
Buffington 0-0 0-0 1-0 1 0 0
Team 3-4 7
Totals 5-41 4-7 12-18 30 15 14
Three-point field goals: Bryant 2-8 (Weaver 2-5, Davis 0-1, Davidson 0-1, Scarlett 0-1), J.A. Fair 0-14 (Raglin 0-7, Williams 0-5, Miller 0-1, Long 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 9, J.A. Fair 21.
