With one of their best ball-handlers unavailable and another in foul trouble, the Bryant Lady Hornets freshman team faced some adversity Wednesday night against the Cabot South Lady Panthers.
The game was originally to be played last Monday but was postponed due to the icy conditions.
Bryant handled the adversity pretty well much to the liking of head coach Nathan Castaldi. In the end, however, the Lady Panthers escaped with a 34-29 win.
Now 4-4, the Lady Hornets are set to host North Little Rock tonight.
“I thought we had some girls really step up to give us a shot to win,” Castaldi said. “I thought Sarah (Kennedy) and Macey (Jaramillo) both played their best game of the year. Sarah really helped us against Cabot’s pressure and Macey shot the ball really well. Cabot always relies on their pressure to cause turnovers and get easy baskets but we did a good job of handling their press and making them work for every basket they hit.”
Despite the foul trouble, Destiny Martin still led the Lady Hornets with 11 points. Jaramillo had 6 with Kennedy and Kennedy Harris adding 4 each. Riley Hill and Alyssa Kubiako finished with 2 apiece.
Cabot South forged an 11-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and held a 23-15 advantage at the half. But the Lady Hornets wouldn’t go away and trailed just 28-24 going into the final period.
“We closed the lead the entire second half and had a shot to tie with a minute left but it rimmed out and then Cabot was able to hit free throws to seal the win,” Castaldi recounted. “I was very proud of the way the girls played. They matched Cabot’s aggressiveness and continued to battle until the end.”
