Lady Hornets tie defending finalists, defeat Har-Ber at tourney
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BENTONVILLE — Facing the two teams that battled for the Class 7A State championship in 2013, the Bryant Lady Hornets played them even to open a tournament in Bentonville over the weekend.
Against the host Lady Tigers, it was a 0-0 deadlock. Against the defending runner-up Mount St. Mary Belles (who ousted the Lady Hornets in the semifinals last year), the final was another scoreless duel. To close out the event, the Lady Hornets earned a 2-1 win over Springdale Har-Ber’s Lady Wildcats to finish as the tourney runner-up.
“Overall, the weekend went well,” said Lady Hornets coach Julie Long. “I was pleased with how the girls played and excited that they will keep pushing for the rest of the year.”
In the win, Bryant scored its two goals in the first five minutes. The initial score came off a header by Kara Moser off a corner kick by Anna Lowery just a minute in.
Not much later, Rori Whittaker followed up a shot taken by Lowery and scored to make it 2-0.
The Lady Hornets made that stand up until Har-Ber managed a goal with around five minutes left in the match.
“Maddie Hawkins had a big save off a PK early in the first half,” Long noted.
Regarding the deadlock with Bentonville, the coach said, “I was pleased with how we played. The girls came out and not only played with them but challenged them. Of course, I’m not happy with a tie but I am happy with where we are.”
She also liked how the team performed in the tie with Mount, saying, “I felt the girls played very well. I just wish they would have finished. We did everything but finish.”
The Lady Hornets are set to open South Conference play on Tuesday at Benton. They’ll be off after that until a non-conference match with Little Rock Central on April 3.
