Three-point barrage in the first half lifts Lady Hornets
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
MORRILTON — The Bryant Lady Hornets connected on six 3-pointers in the first half including four by McKenzie Muse, gaining separation from the Sylvan Hills Lady Bears late in the half on the way to a 60-51 victory in the first round of the 11thannual Petit Jean Classic at Devil Dog Arena on Tuesday night.
Bryant built a lead of as much as 26 before Sylvan Hills rallied late. The final margin was the closet of the second half.
The win improved the Lady Hornets to 4-1 on the season and advances them into the tourney semifinals against Morrilton tonight at 6:30 p.m. Sylvan Hills will play Greenbrier on Thursday in the consolation round.
Muse and Kalia Walker led the Lady Hornets with 14 points apiece. Tierra Trotter had 12. Robyn Gordon added 7 points and eight rebounds, tying Celena Martin for the honors on the boards.
Muse had two of her triples in the first quarter, helping the Lady Hornets build a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes.
Sylvan Hills, paced by 10 points from Sadie Carrell kept it close but when Walker canned her first 3 with :25 left in the period, Bryant led 14-8.
Eventually, however, the Lady Bears pulled even with the Lady Hornets early in the second quarter as they put together a 6-0 run.
Muse struck again from distance to break the tie and Bryant was ahead to stay.
Shayla Golden hit a jumper from the corner to trim the margin to 1 with 5:53 left in the second quarter but that proved to be the last of the Sylvan Hills scoring in the half.
Starting with a 3 from Trotter, Bryant put together a 14-0 surge at the end of the quarter that extended to 22-0 with the first 6 points of the second half.
The Lady Hornets increased the defensive pressure on the Lady Bears, whose turnovers went for three after a quarter to 12 by halftime.
Martin’s bucket off the offensive boards followed Trotter’s 3. Trotter followed with a layup then, moments later, Gordon scored to make it a double-digit lead for the first time, 26-16.
On the other end, Gordon rejected a Sylvan Hills shot, one of her three blocks.
Trotter added to the margin then Muse closed out the half with her fourth troika to make it 15-point game at half.
The Lady Hornets got the ball inside to Gordon for an early basket in the third quarter. Martin made a steal that led to a layup for Trotter. A little later, Trotter canned a driving jumper to make it 39-16.
It was 41-22 when Bryant started another push. Muse scored inside then Lexie Taylor nailed a 3. Walker added a pair of free throws to make it 48-22.
The Lady Hornets’ lead going into the fourth quarter was 50-30.
The Lady Bears trimmed the margin to 16 before India Atkins scored off a drive to get the Lady Hornets back on track. With 4:22 left, Walker swished another triple and it was 59-37.
Bryant’s lead was still 60-41 then Sylvan Hills managed to finish the game on a 10-0 run.
LADY HORNETS 60, LADY BEARS 51
Score by quarters
Sylvan Hills 10 6 14 21 — 51
BRYANT 14 19 17 10 — 60
LADY BEARS (2-3) 51
Dolphin 0-7 1-2 1, Wilkins 1-7 0-0 3, Carrell 4-8 0-0 10, Cartwright 3-9 3-4 9, Parker 2-4 0-0 4, Perry 3-8 1-2 7, Jones 2-2 2-2 6, Smith 1-1. 3-4 5, Golden 2-4 2-5 6, Guy 0-0 0-0 0, Hallman0-1 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals18-51 12-19 51.
LADY HORNETS (4-1) 60
Trotter 5-9 1-2 12, Atkins 2-9 1-3 5, Martin 1-4 3-7 5, Gordon 2-6 3-4 7, Muse 5-10 0-0 14, Steen 0-2 0-0 0, Walker 3-8 6-8 14, Taylor 1-5 0-0 3, Russ 0-2 0-0 0, Deaton 0-0 0-0 0, Scifres 0-1 0-0 0, Baker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals19-56 14-24 60.
Three-point field goals:Bryant 8-15 (Muse 4-6, Walker 2-3, Trotter 1-3, Taylor 1-2, Atkins 0-1), Sylvan Hills 3-15 (Carrell 2-5, Wilkins 1-4, Dolphin 0-3, Perry 0-1, Golden 0-1, Hallman 0-1). Turnovers:Bryant 17, Sylvan Hills 20. Rebounds: Bryant 18-26 44 (Martin 2-6 8, Gordon 4-4 8, Steen 4-3 7, Muse 1-3 4, Trotter 1-2 3, Atkins 0-3 3, Russ 2-1 3, Deaton 0-2 2, Walker 1-1 2, Taylor 0-1, team 3-0), Sylvan Hills 11-23 34 (Cartwright 5-5 10, Carrell 2-3 5, Wilkins 0-4 4, Perry 1-2 3, Dolphin 1-1 2, Parker 0-1 1, Jones 0-1 1, Golden 0-1 1, Williams 0-1 1, team 2-3 5). Team fouls:Bryant 13, Sylvan Hills 18.
