BEEBE — The Bryant Lady Hornets suffered just their second loss of the season on Friday as the Little Rock Christian Academy Lady Warriors rode a fast start to a 51-37 victory in the semifinals of the Badger Holiday Classic at Beebe High School.
The Lady Hornets, who have already defeated perennial Class 6A powerhouses Conway and North Little Rock, improved to 11-1 on the season and will play for the tournament championship against Jacksonville tonight at 7 p.m. The Lady Hornets take on host Beebe in the third-place game at 4 p.m.
The loss stopped a seven-game winning streak for Bryant, now 8-2.
“We got off to a very tough start,” said Lady Hornets coach Brad Matthews. “We knew that Little Rock Christian was very talented, and we were so anxious to show that we could play and compete with one of the best teams in the state that we just didn’t relax and play. We struggled from the field in terms of making shots and we also forced some stuff, just trying too hard to make plays.”
The Lady Warriors broke out to a 15-3 lead by the end of the first quarter. It was 30-14 at the half.
“I’m very proud of our effort and our fight,” Matthews said. “We got down early but fought really hard to get back in the game midway through the third quarter. We just didn’t have enough to get all the way back.”
The Little Rock Christian lead was 46-25 going into the fourth quarter.
Senior Kalia Walker led Bryant with 10 points. India Atkins added 8, Ivory Russ 6 and Tierra Trotter 5. McKenzie Muse and Celena Martin scored 3 apiece with Allison Steen adding a basket.
