For more photos of this event by Kevin Nagle, go here
CABOT — Ashton Inman drove to the basket for a layup then Kaitlyn Weng drained a 3-pointer as the Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team took a quick 5-0 lead over the Cabot South Lady Panthers on Thursday night.
But the Lady Hornets managed just two more field goals the rest of the game as the Lady Panthers gradually built a 37-16 victory in Central Arkansas Junior High Conference play.
The game got physical as Cabot South pressured the Lady Hornets up and down the floor. Bumps and grabs were over-looked much of the time and it just knocked the Lady Hornets off kilter. After those first two shots went in, they missed their next 17 before Weng hit another 3.
By that time, Cabot South had built a 27-10 lead and it was late in the third quarter.
Even when there was no contact, the Lady Hornets seemed to anticipate it and several shots were short.
Inman and Jaiyah Jackson added free throws in the second quarter to trim the lead to 9 but the Lady Panthers scored in the final seconds to make it 21-10 at the half.
After Kaitlyn Weng’s 3 late in the third quarter, Cabot South it a free throw and Ashton Inman beat the buzzer with a 3 to make it 28-16.
But the Lady Hornets were shut out in the fourth quarter as none of their seven shots nor three free throws found the bottom of the net.
All nine Cabot South players that got into the game contributed to the scoring. Ashton Inman led Bryant with 7.
The game marked the conclusion of the Lady Hornets’ pre-Christmas schedule. They’ll return to action on Thursday, Dec. 28, at the Kameron Hale Invitational Tournament at Lake Hamilton.
LADY PANTHERS 37, LADY HORNETS 16
Score by quarters
BRYANT 6 4 6 0 — 16
Cabot South 11 10 7 9 — 37
LADY HORNETS 16
Ka.Weng 2-8 0-0 6, Kr.Weng 0-2 0-0 0, Ab.Inman 0-4 1-3 1, As.Inman 2-12 2-2 7, Laughlin 0-0 0-0 0, Funk 0-2 0-2 0, Jackson 0-2 2-4 2, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Buck 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Schaefer 0-0 0-0 0, Alvarado 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 4-30 (13%) 5-11 (45%) 16
LADY PANTHERS 37
Ringgold 2-4 1-4 6, Theobold 0-5 1-2 1, Mader 3-5 1-3 7, Siegler 3-9 0-0 6, Dolan 0-3 4-4 4, Leonard 2-2 1-2 5, Wells 2-6 0-0 5, Lyr 0-0 1-2 1, Taylor 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 13-36 (36%) 9-17 (53%) 37.
Three-point field goals: Bryant 3-13 (Ka.Weng 2-6, As.Inman 1-4, Kr.Weng 0-2, Funk 0-1), Cabot South 2-7 (Wells 1-5, Ringgold 1-1, Mader 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 18, Cabot South 17. Rebounds: Bryant 9-13 22 (Ka.Weng 2-3 5, Funk 2-2 4, Ab.Inman 0-3 3, As.Inman 2-1 3, Laughlin 0-2 2, Kr.Weng 0-1 1, Jackson 1-0 1, Buck 0-1 1, team 2-0 2), Cabot South 13-20 33 (Dolan 4-7 11, Leonard 3-6 9, Siegler 3-1 4, Lyr 1-1 2, Mader 1-0 1, Wells 0-1 1, team 1-4 5). Team fouls: Bryant 15, Cabot South 14.