After a big loss at home on Monday night, the Hornets, who sat at 4-5, traveled just up North Oak, to take on the Lady Oakies (5-5) to start a varsity doubleheader, conference stakes on the line. 

The Hornet season has been turbulent to this point. They kicked off the year with a loss on the road against Grandview, on the back of the hot-shooting Cierra Smith. They caught their footing at home, defeating #20 Raytown South (8-2), playing excellent on the defensive end down the stretch. They then tumbled, losing in back-to-back to #18 Park Hill South (6-2) and #9 St. Pius X (5-1). 

After that stretch, they caught fire, defeating St. Michael’s (3-7) to kick off the holiday season. Right after they opened presents, they headed down to Neosho, taking second place to an extremely talented Ft. Smith Northside. Before that came two more wins over East Newton (3-2) and Neosho (5-7). 

That brought them to Oak Park. In a back and forth first quarter, Hailey Black and Lynsie Bishop traded three’s, and the both teams settled into a fast-paced shootout. Both teams remained close, with the Hornets on top through the first, 12-8. 

After the 60 second breather, the Lady Oakies seemed to catch a second win, flipping the momentum and nailing a good set of shots in the post, and from behind the arc, to tie the game going into the break, 21-21. 

In the second half, the Hornets were the ones to steal back the early momentum. The quarter started slow, trading buckets to get to 25-25. The Hornets then ripped off 8 straight to close out the quarter, led by the underclassmen duo of Black and LaNicia Parker, as well as lineup insert Angeer Riak. Riak, making her first start of the season, played notably well down low, on both ends of the floor. 

With an 8 point advantage, the Hornets kept their foot on the gas until it came time to play the free-throw game. The Hornets got caught in an offensive rebound trap. Allowing key rebounds down the stretch to fall in the hands of the Oakies. A double digit lead shrunk down to at the lowest, 6. However, the Hornets made the right plays, at just the right times, and pulled out a 46-38 victory. 

The Lady Hornets now sit at 5-5, and are 1-2 in conference contests. They next play in the Kearney Invitational Tournament, at Kearney High, next week. They kick off against #20 Raytown South (8-2) in a rematch destined to be close. We’ll see you there!