NORTH LITTLE ROCK — After absorbing their second loss of the young season on Monday at the North Little Rock Middle School Invitational Tournament, the Bryant White Lady Hornets eighth grade team of Bryant Middle School forged their first win of the season on Tuesday, beating North Little Rock Blue, 31-17.
The Lady Hornets will wrap up the tournament on Thursday against a third North Little Rock team. Their opening loss came to North Little Rock Gold.
“Tuesday in practice we made adjustments and played a game our way,” said Lady Hornets coach Ben Perry. “We were able to move the ball very effectively and scored at will. I was able to clear the bench and get girls valuable playing time.”
Kaitlyn Weng led the way with 16 points, 9 on a trio of 3’s. The Lady Hornets led just 9-8 after a quarter but ran out to a 20-10 advantage by halftime. It was 27-14 going into the fourth quarter.
“We dominated the boards and made a strong showing in the paint,” Perry said. “It has taken a few games but the girls are finally coming together as a unit and are playing well together. We still have much to work on but we are getting there.
“It would have been nice to play other teams besides North Little Rock but that is just how it ended up this year,” he added.
On Monday, the Bryant White team lost 35-20.
“Their athleticism and pressure got us out of playing our game and the girls ended up playing their game,” Perry said. “We never got into a rhythm and the girls played frustrated. We couldn’t hit our shots and we trailed early.”
The deficit was 7-2 at the end of the first quarter and 15-7 at the half. North Little Rock held a 25-12 lead at the end of the third stanza.
