Game Report: Little Rock Central vs Bryant (2/11)

Preview   The Lady Hornets of Bryant High School traveled to Little Rock to face Central High School last night. This was the second meeting of the year between the two teams, with the Central Lady Tigers coming away with the victory in their first matchup.   Since then, Bryant has played well in conference, entering the matchup 4-3 in the 6A Central. The Lady Hornets were attempting to even the season series, and Central was looking to defend their home floor.   Recap   Bryant's defense was the deciding factor of the first two quarters. Neither team's offenses were effective, missing shot after shot, but Bryant was able to force Central to make bad decisions. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1090371' first='Jaisha' last='Williams'] had a great game against the Tigers in their first meeting of the year back in January, and it was looking like she might repeat her efforts, scoring 8 of the first 11 points for the Hornets.   Despite the hounding defense, Central managed to find a little bit of life in the waning seconds of the half. After forcing the Hornets to commit two turnovers, scoring off of one of those opportunities, Central finally gained the lead.   Coming out of the locker room in the 3rd quarter, the Tigers wanted to expand on their 20-18 lead. They continued to press the action by driving hard to the paint, leading to several trips to the charity stripe. Central converted the majority of their looks at the line, and their defense continued to tighten up, holding the Hornets to just 17 points in second half.   For Bryant, their defense finally started to wear down. After holding the Tigers to 20 points in the opening half, they let them go for 27 in the second half. After some critical 4th quarter baskets from [player_tooltip player_id='884753' first='E'lyse' last='Williams'], Central squashed any thought of Bryant finding their way back into the game, finishing with a score of 47-35.   Key Performances from Little Rock Central Players    [player_tooltip player_id='465535' first='Ameriya' last='Gaston'] was not Central's leading scorer, but she was an outstanding two-way post presence all night. She has cleaned up the fouling in the latter half of conference play, allowing her to stay on the court and thrive.   Gaston had her conference (and possibly overall) season-high in points with 11. She also had 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 6 blocks. This is her second game in a row to record 6 blocks and her third game in conference play with 6 or more rejections.   Gaston has been impossible to shoot over in the paint. I never saw the opposition beat her off a drive or get her out of position. Bryant had to fight just for a good look at the rim. I would say that most of Bryant's limited paint scoring was when she was either defending someone else or she was not in the game.   The senior center continues to impress on the offensive end. She plays with strength, pushing defenders around in the post. Her touch around the basket has improved tremendously, becoming an easy assist target for her teammates.   Keep an eye out for [player_tooltip player_id='465535' first='Ameriya' last='Gaston'], the best post defender in the 6A classification.     From the get-go, [player_tooltip player_id='465505' first='Ky' last='Wilson'] was Central's best offensive player. She met her scoring average this game, but she was impressive at more than just scoring.   Wilson put up 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals in the win. She was 2/3 from downtown, being tough to stop off the catch. She also drove hard to the basket throughout the night, finishing and drawing fouls.   Wilson's 2 assists were from quick decisions off of drives. She hit up Gaston both times after drawing the Hornet's help defense, quickly firing an accurate pass to her open teammate.   As usual, [player_tooltip player_id='465505' first='Ky' last='Wilson'] had a fantastic impact on the game. She made plays on both sides of the ball, forcing turnovers on one end and being responsible for key points on the other.    <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/taylor-day-davis/">Taylor Day-Davis</a>- The senior forward had 9 points along with 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals. She read the opposition perfectly on defense, intercepting passes as easily as the Eagles did in the Super Bowl. She did not have her best game when it came to shot creation, but she played physically for all four quarters. 4 of her points came from the charity stripe, where she did not miss.   <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/elyse-williams/">[player_tooltip player_id='884753' first='E'lyse' last='Williams']</a>- The junior guard had one of her best all-around games in conference play last night. She had 5 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. She was unselfish, leading the team in assists for the evening. Williams was always looking to feed the hot-hands down low, but she showed that she could take it upon herself to score in the fourth. Her first made shot was a prayer of a triple to beat the shot clock. When I had a chance to talk with her after the game, I asked if she knew it would go through. Williams replied that she knew it was going in the entire time. She also scored a crucial layup through contact to help Central stretch their lead out late.   Key Performances from Bryant Players    [player_tooltip player_id='1090371' first='Jaisha' last='Williams'] had a double-double against Central back in January, putting the entire 6A central on notice. She was close to getting another double-double in last night's close affair.   The freshman posted 8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and drew 1 charge. After having a hot first quarter, Central's defense started tightening up on her, so she had to make an impact in other ways.   Williams was held to just 2 rebounds in the first half, but she finally started finding success crashing the glass in the second, especially on the offensive end. The forward pulled down 4 second-chance rebounds, keeping plays alive. A couple of her assists came off those rebounds, and she was very comfortable handling the ball and initiating the offense.   [player_tooltip player_id='1090371' first='Jaisha' last='Williams'] had plenty of great moments for the Lady Hornets. She even showed that she is more than a post player, as she was perfect from the 3-point line, knocking down 2 triples.     [player_tooltip player_id='1090888' first='Keila' last='Dailey'] did not have the best scoring outing, but she almost single-handedly kept Bryant within striking distance in the second half.   Dailey only scored 4 points, but she pulled down 4 rebounds (all offensive boards), and blocked 1 shot. The freshman also helped move the ball around, but with Bryant's shooting inconsistencies, she was not able to rack up any assists.   Dailey also played outstanding defense. She is one of the shorter players on this Bryant team, but she did block one of Gaston's shots in the paint, which seemed like a sure-fire make for the senior. This freshman is athletic and physical, especially on that end of the floor.   [player_tooltip player_id='1090888' first='Keila' last='Dailey'] has nerves of steel. She does not hunker down in the clutch, and I thought that she took control at the end. Dailey drove hard to the paint, scoring an and-one while demanding respect from outside.    <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/tag/brooklyn-kuchinski/">[player_tooltip player_id='1060899' first='Brooklyn' last='Kuchinski']</a>- The junior point guard had a solid outing against the Tigers. She put up 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. Kuchinski's offense primarily came from beyond the arch, knocking down a quick 3-pointer to open up the game quickly on a 6-0 run. She also shot well from the free throw line, going 3/4 on the evening, with most of her attempts coming in the clutch.   <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/kierstan-dailey/">[player_tooltip player_id='1183259' first='Kierstan' last='Dailey']</a>- [player_tooltip player_id='1183259' first='Kierstan' last='Dailey'] has made her largest impact this season as a player who will do the little things to help her team win. She knocked down open mid-range jumpers, compiling for 6 points, while also getting second-chance opportunities from her 2 offensive boards. The freshman added 6 total rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals to her total.   Review   The Bryant Lady Hornets drop to .500 overall and in conference play. They look to bounce back against Little Rock Southwest at home on Friday.   For the Central Lady Tigers, they improve to 17-6 overall and 6-2 in conference play.

Preview