BENTON, Ar. — Lake Hamilton’s girls paid little attention to Benton’s season record of 13-3 or perfect 6-0 mark in 5A South. The Lady Wolves fought hard for four quarters before falling to the Lady Panthers, 50-39.
The Panthers scored the final two points of the first half for a 25-19 lead. The favored ‘Cats then went on a 10-0 run to start the second half, and the visitors never got closer than 11 afterwards.
10-0 run by Benton was the key
Lake Hamilton (6-12, 3-3) kept fighting. It had a 6-0 run of its own later, but Panther guard Tazayyah Bufford frustrated the Lady Wolves with five 3-pointers. She finished with a game-high 19 points, with Madison McIntire contributing 10 points.
Brooklynn Braughton caught fire in the second half, and the two teams traded baskets most of the way. Lake Hamilton actually outscored the host team after the first four minutes of the third quarter. Braughton tallied a team-high 17 points, most in the final two quarters. Nancy Coffman added 11 points for the Wolves
The game was played before a full house at the Benton Arena, and Lake Hamilton packed the visitors side.