Lady Hornets beat Hot Springs, Hamburg
Martin Couch Sports editor

LADY HORNETS KEVIN NAGEL PHOTOS Bryant's Taylor Hughes moves around a Hamburg player, left. Right, Brittany Mills shoots for three points against Hamburg. Bryant won 71-32.

The Bryant Lady Hornets are continuing to prove that they are getting back to their old winning ways.

Most recently Bryant defeated Hot Springs and Hamburg in two nonconference games and will take on Sheridan and Benton in the upcoming week. At 6- 1 overall, the Lady Hornets are beginning to play team basketball to the delight of head coach Blake Condley.

Bryant defeated Hot Springs 46-43 behind 20 points from sophomore Hannah Goshien and defeated Hamburg 71-32 last Friday night with a balanced scoring attack; 15 players reached the scoring column.

"We've got them playing up and down," Condley said.

Against Hot Springs, Goshien came alive with 20 points, Anna Simpson scored 10 points, Amber Westbrook added six points, Jasmine Carter scored seven points, Taylor Hughes scored a basket and Alana Morris added a free throw.

"It wasn't anything like holding them off; it was us getting back and catching them," Condley said.

The Lady Hornets trailed by six points at halftime 23-17, but came back with a 19-point third quarter behind the shooting of Goshien.

"Hannah Goshien played well in the third quarter and hit some shots," Condley said. "Our girls did a good job getting her the ball. When she had the hot hand, that was good teamwork to me to find a good player that's hot and get her the ball."

The Lady Hornets weren't without mental mistakes in the first half, but came back to make key defensive stops in the final minutes of the game to preserve the win.

"We did a good job working through and they responded well," Condley said. "Alana got a big defensive stop late and she made the big play of the game right there at the end. It was good for her to come back and finish the game for us."

Another Lady Hornet to step up was Carter, who came down with a key rebound that held off Hot Springs.

"Jasmine had a big assist to Hannah in the third quarter and, when we needed it, she got a big stop late by coming down with a rebound. I'm not sure how she ended up with it," Condley said. "She got it and it was a big stop for us."

KEEPING AN EYE ON IT KEVIN NAGEL PHOTO Lady Hornet Hannah Goshien eyes a basket against Hamburg.

Against Hamburg, the Lady Hornets scored a season-high 71 points and kept their opponents at bay the entire contest.

Bryant jumped out to a 21-13 lead and upped it to a 46-26 lead by halftime. Morris led Bryant with 11 points, Simpson and Goshien each had nine points, Hughes and Haley Montgomery both had six points, and Courtney Mosley, Westbrook, Lindsey Cason and Shanika Johnson all had four points each, while Carter and Kenzee Calley had three points apiece and Syiaetta Johnson, Brooke Parish, Olivia Ruple and Brittany Mills each scored a basket in the victory.

"We got them playing up and down with us and we were pressing to get out on them quickly," Condley said. "We attacked the zone pretty well and I hadn't felt like we had done that in the last couple of games and we've been working on it. We got the shots we wanted instead of letting them dictate the tempo. We had balanced scoring and it was spread around. I can't pinpoint one girl who played better; it was just another good team game, which is something we've been pushing for and focusing on."

Heading into another tough week, Condley says the Lady Hornets are where they want to be right now.

"We're where we want to be at this point," he said. "I've been wanting us to have a good game where we put everything together.

"Not that we played perfect; Hot Springs was a tough game and we weren't clicking on all cylinders, but we fixed those things in practice and it was good to see that we're progressing and getting better in each game. I can't ask for anything else."