By Rob Patrick
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — An offensive rebound and stickback by Katie Davidson ended the first[more] half of the Bryant Lady Hornets’ Central Arkansas Junior High Conference game against the North Little Rock Junior Cats Monday night.
An eight-foot jumper by Taylor Lindberg opened the third quarter for Bryant then Davidson blocked a shot at the other end and collected the rebound. And when Nikki Clay cashed that in by drilling a 12-footer, the Lady Hornets had whittled an 18-4 deficit to 18-10.
But, unfortunately, that’s when the frustrations that have dogged the Lady Hornets all season showed up again.
North Little Rock’s Molica Monk missed a pair of free throws but the rebound went out of bounds to the Lady Cats. Monk missed again but before the Lady Hornets could attempt another shot in hopes of trimming the lead further, she made a steal and layup.
Bryant was unable to score again until there was just 2:33 left in the game. Lindberg hit a short jumper but, by then, North Little Rock had built a 29-10 lead on the way to a 35-14 victory.
The Lady Cats pressed to the end and forced 26 turnovers. Oddly enough, the Lady Hornets never shot a single free throw in the game despite that aggressive North Little Rock defense.
Monk and Camdyn McDaniel led the Lady Cats with 9 points each in the game. Lindberg and Clay each had 4 for the Lady Hornets. Davidson, Jayla Anderson and Mallory Curry finished with 2 apiece.
Curry’s was the only basket of the first quarter for the Lady Hornets who have now been held under 20 points in 12 of their 19 games. North Little Rock built a 12-2 lead and expanded that to 16-2 before Clay knocked down a jumper in the lane midway through the second period.
Ashton Bobbitts’s basket had North Little Rock up 18-4 before Davidson’s basket in the final minute of the half started the Lady Hornets’ 6-0 run.
But it was 24-10 going into the third quarter. McDaniel’s short jumper and a 3 by Halley Hill produced the largest lead of the contest before Lindberg ended Bryant’s drought.
Hill scored again but Anderson answered for Bryant’s final points at the 1:55 mark.
Two free throws by McDaniel and Nakyla Shelton’s layup off a Bryant turnover with :13 showing set the final score.
The Lady Hornets return to action on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., at Mount St. Mary Academy. When the two teams met in Bryant, the Mounties escaped with a 24-22 win in overtime.
The regular season concludes on Monday, Feb. 6, when Conway Blue visits Bryant.
JUNIOR LADY CHARGING WILDCATS 35, JUNIOR LADY HORNETS 14
Score by quarters
BRYANT 2 4 4 4 — 14
NLR 12 6 6 11 — 35
JUNIOR LADY HORNETS 14
Anderson 1-2 0-0 2, Clay 2-7 0-0 4, Davidson 1-1 0-0 2, Lindberg 2-6 0-0 4, Curry 1-2 0-0 2, Huffman 0-1 0-0 0, Solinger 0-1 0-0 0. Powers 0-1 0-0 0, Gray 0-0 0-0 0, Earls 0-0 0-0 0, Blair 0-0 0-0 0, Barber 0-0 0-0 0. Total 7-21 0-0 14.
JUNIOR LADY CHARGING WILDCATS 35
Phillips 1-10 2-4 4, Monk 4-8 1-4 9, Lee 0-1 0-0 0, Hill 2-5 0-0 5, McDaniel 3-10 2-2 9, Shelton 3-6 0-0 6, Bobbitt 1-3 0-0 2, Franklin 0-0 0-0 0, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0, Frazier 0-1 0-0 0, Whitley 0-0 0-0 0. Total 14-44 5-10 35.
Three-point field goals: Bryant 0-2 (Clay 0-2), North Little Rock 2-8 (Hill 1-2, McDaniel 1-2, Phillips 0-2, Shelton 0-1, Bobbitt 0-1). Rebounds: Bryant 20 (Davidson 5, Anderson 4), North Little Rock 26 (Monk 7). Turnovers: Bryant 26, North Little Rock 14. Team fouls: Bryant 7, North Little Rock 8.
