By Rob Patrick
After trailing by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, the Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team put together[more] an 18-4 run on the way to a furious 30-28 win over the rival Benton Lady Panthers on Monday night.
Bryant didn’t lead in the game until there was just 1:26 left to play. Aubree Allen had hit a free throw to cut Benton’s lead to 26-25. Her second shot rimmed out but teammate Dezerea Duckworth snatched the carom and scored to put the Lady Hornets ahead.
They never trailed after that.
The Lady Hornets include Allen, Jessica Alliston, Andrea Buford, Ashlee Caton, Caylin Choate, Duckworth, Kaitlyn Greer, Keedy Harrison, Taylor Matthews, Dee-Dee Mosby, Melinda Murdock, Amber Newman, Destiny Nichols, Brittany Privett, Erica Smith, Rori Whittaker and Alex Wright.
“That was a big win,” declared Lady Hornets coach Nathan Castaldi. “You know, starting conference off 1-0. That’s what you’ve got to do, protect your home court. I was very pleased. We did just enough to pull it out.”
The Lady Panthers jumped to a 5-0 lead in the game by virtue of a basket by Braylee Landreth and a 3 by Gavin Taylor. Duckworth turned in a three-point play but that proved to be the only points for the Lady Hornets in the opening quarter as Benton surged to a 9-3 lead.
To start the second period, however, Bryant rallied to tie. Smith scored off an inbounds play then Allen grabbed an offensive rebound and turned it into a three-point play. After a Benton turnover, Allen added a free throw to knot it at 9.
But the Lady Panthers would not relinquish the lead. A 3 by Allison Reynolds snapped the tie and led to Benton’s 14-11 halftime advantage.
Reynolds, who led all scorers with 12 points in the game, contributed a basket and two free throws to an 8-0 run that started the second half. That produced, the Lady Panthers’ 22-11 lead.
A driving jumper by Duckworth, who paced Bryant with 10 points, started the Lady Hornets’ rally. Duckworth then forced a five-second call by guarding Benton point guard Braxton Chumley tightly. Whittaker took advantage by banking in a 15-footer to cut the margin to 22-15.
In a flurry, Duckworth made a steal only to have Taylor steal it back. Duckworth returned the favor and drove for a basket that trimmed the lead to 5.
It stayed 22-17 until the closing moments of the third quarter when Benton broke a drought of over three minutes to make it a 7-point game going into the fourth quarter.
Both teams missed a chance to change the 24-17 score early in the final period but it wasn’t until Allen made a steal and Caylin Choate scored after grabbing the rebound off Allen’s miss that it happened.
With just over three minutes left in the game, Allen blocked a shot by Benton’s Savanna Mayo and, at the other end, Whittaker nailed a 3 from the top of the key.
Two missed free throws with 2:50 left, gave Bryant a chance to tie it and Allen, off a feed from Choate got it done with a basket inside.
Chumley, however, converted both ends of a one-and-one at the 1:45 mark to keep the Lady Panthers up. That led to Allen being fouled on the sequence that put the Lady Hornets ahead.
After a Benton timeout, Duckworth made a steal and fed Whittaker for another basket that made it it a 3-point Bryant advantage.
After another Lady Panthers’ timeout, Reynolds was fouled. She made one free throw to cut the lead to 2 but Duckworth got that free throw back with :36.6 showing.
Taylor tried to tie it with a 3-pointer but it rimmed out. With :17 left, Choate was fouled. Though she missed the first shot, Smith tapped the rebound out to Choate and, with :13.7 showing, Duckworth was fouled.
Benton gained some hope when she missed the front end of the bonus opportunity. But the Lady Panthers could only add a free throw and Bryant held on for the win.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Hornets held the Lady Panthers without a field goal in seven tries. Benton went 4 of 10 from the line in the final period.
“Defensively, we got a couple of steals and some easy buckets,” noted Castaldi. “They played good defense all game and we were struggling offensively. Rori Whittiker hit that 3 and I think that kind of sparked us. It kind of put the momentum in our hands.”
Bryant will travel to Lake Hamilton on Monday, Nov. 29 in hopes of improving its 3-2 record.
LADY HORNETS 30, LADY PANTHERS 28
Score by quarters
Benton 9 5 10 4 — 28
BRYANT 3 8 6 13 — 30
LADY PANTHERS 28
Chumley 1-4 2-3 4, Mayo 1-7 2-6 4, Landreth 1-5 0-1 2, Taylor 1-5 0-0 3, Reynolds 4-6 3-6 12, McCurry 0-1 0-0 0, Dintleman 1-3 1-2 3, Watkins 0-0 0-0 0, Hastings 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-31 8-18 28.
LADY HORNETS 30
Choate 1-2 0-1 2, Duckworth 4-10 2-5 10, Whittaker 3-12 0-1 7, Allen 2-8 5-7 9, Smith 1-1 0-1 2, Nichols 0-0 0-0 0, Newman 0-0 0-0 0, Harrison 0-0 0-0 0, Buford 0-0 0-0 0, Alliston 0-0 0-0 0, Greer 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 11-35 7-17 30.
Three-point field goals: Benton 2-9 (Taylor 1-4, Reynolds 1-2, Chumley 0-2, Mayo 0-1), Bryant 1-3 (Whittaker 1-1, Duckworth 0-2). Rebounds: Benton 24 (Landreth 9), Bryant 36 (Allen 9, Choate, Duckworth 6). Turnovers: Benton 16, Bryant 19. Team fouls: Benton 18, Bryant 18. Fouled out: Benton, Landreth.
