By Rob Patrick
Photos by Kevin Nagle
BENTON — Aggressive, physical, skilled and confident, this year’s version of the[more] Benton freshmen looked as formidable as any Junior Lady Panthers team has in memory on Monday night when they roughed up the Bryant Lady Hornets 34-9 at the Benton Arena.
Last week at the Bryant Invitational Tournament, Benton had topped Bryant 32-16. This time, it was the opener of the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference slate for both teams.
The Lady Hornets, who have struggled offensively so far this season, got harassed into 29 turnovers in the contest. Not only that, they had trouble just getting shots. Held to just three attempts from the field in the first half, the Lady Hornets were 2 of 11 in the game against the smothering, overplaying Benton defense.
Benton was led Braylee Landreth who finished with 9 points in the first half. Haley Reynolds came off the bench to add 8.
Destiny Huffman led Bryant with 4 points. Taylor Lindberg had 3. Mallory Curry scored the other 2.
Bryant’s defense helped keep it close for awhile but Benton closed out the first half with a 12-0 run that turned a 9-3 lead early in the second quarter into a commanding 21-3 margin at the half.
A 3-pointer by Kendall Meaders and a pair of baskets by Landreth had Benton up 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. Bryant’s lone shot attempt in the quarter was a 3-point try by Huffman right after Meaders’ triple at the 4:35 mark.
Reynolds scored to start the second quarter, making it 9-0 before Lindberg scored inside to break the ice for the Lady Hornets at the 4:55 mark. Moments later, Lindberg added a free throw to make it 9-3.
That was at the 4:02 mark of the second. The rest of the quarter, the Lady Hornets were not only held scoreless by the active Benton defense but they were limited to just one shot attempt from the field.
The lead grew to 24-3 early in the third quarter on a basket and a free throw by Ashlie Dintleman.
Bryant’s long dry spell ended with Curry’s two free throws at the 4:28 mark. But Benton’s Braxton Chumley trumped that with a 3-pointer to make it 27-5.
Huffman’s jumper was countered by a bucket from Reynolds. Two free throws by Huffman set the score at 29-9 going into the fourth quarter when reserves took over for both teams.
The Lady Hornets return to action at home against Lake Hamilton on Monday, Nov. 28.
LADY PANTHERS 34, LADY HORNETS 9
Score by quarters
BRYANT 0 3 6 0 — 9
Benton 7 14 8 5 — 34
LADY HORNETS 9
Anderson 0-2 0-0 0, Clay 0-3 0-0 0, Huffman 1-2 2-2 4, Lindberg 1-2 1-2 3, Davidson 0-0 0-0 0, Gray 0-0 0-0 0, Curry 0-0 2-2 2, Sollinger 0-0 0-0 0, West 0-1 0-0 0, Blair 0-1 0-0 0, Earls 0-0 0-0 0, Barber 0-0 0-0 0, Jamison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 2-11 4-5 9.
LADY PANTHERS 34
Chumley 1-4 0-0 3, Meaders 1-1 0-0 3, Mayo 1-3 0-0 3, Dintleman 1-3 1-3 3, Landreth 4-9 1-4 9, Capel 0-1 0-0 0, Bono 0-2 0-0 0, Reynolds 2-3 4-6 8, Doggett 0-0 0-0 0, K.Farrow 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 1-2 0-0 2, D.Farrow 1-2 1-2 3, Middleton 0-0 0-0 0, Boshiers 0-0 0-0 0, Huffington 0-0 0-0 0, Malone 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-30 7-15 34.
Three-point field goals: Bryant 0-2 (Huffman 0-1, Blair 0-1), Benton 3-6 (Mayo 1-3, Chumley 1-1, Meaders 1-1, Reynolds 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 29, Benton 17. Rebounds: Bryant 11 (Davidson 3), Benton 19 (Landreth 5). Team fouls: Bryant 15, Benton 9. Technical foul: Bryant, Sollinger.
