SHERWOOD — Turnovers, rebounds and physical play combined to make for a tough night on Monday for the Bryant White Lady Hornets eighth grade team of Bryant Middle School as they absorbed a 31-18 loss to the Sylvan Hills Lady Bears.
The Lady Hornets fell behind 11-3 after a quarter and trailed 21-9 at the half. They battled in the second half and trailed 27-15 going into the fourth quarter.
“Our biggest problem was turnovers,” said Bryant White coach Ben Perry. “Every time we had the ball we would either throw it to the other team or throw up an off-balanced shot with no chance of scoring or obvious fouls that seemed to be only called one way.
“It has been a long time since I have seen a game like this and so I encouraged my players at halftime to ‘dig down deep and play as tough as you can,’” he related. “I told them we had to start winning the boards because we had been constantly out-rebounded. I told them that the calls were going to be called like they would and either way the officials were not going to win or lose this game. We had to reduce our turnovers and make good choices.
“I utilized my bench to get some spark of energy and it worked with Sequoia Green,” the coach mentioned. “She came into the game like a whirlwind and was all over the place. She was able to make some steals and disrupt their offense and even contributed 2 points.”
Kristyn Weng led the Lady Hornets with 7 points. Divine Robinson scored 4. Along with Green, Lauryn Taylor and Lexi Rose had 2 each. Nicole Ball added a free throw.
“Sylvan Hills had some very skilled players but I believe, in a different setting, the outcome may be different,” Perry said. “My girls have learned the hard way that they have to toughen up a bit and I think it will only help them grow as a team.
“They face Cabot North today so they do not get much rest as they play another great team,” he concluded.
