Warriors win two; Lady Warriors still search
Benton picks up league win at Sheridan in double-overtime tilt
Martin Couch Sports editor

FRESHMEN BRENDA GARNER PHOTOS Above, the Lady Warriors battle Bryant. Below, the Warriors play Sheridan.

Even though the Benton started off without a win in four games, the Warriors have found a way and are 2-0 in the Central Arkansas Conference after last week.

The Warriors defeated Bryant 40-33, annd then beat Sheridan on the road 30-24 in double overtime.

"We are still in first place in the conference," said Benton head coach David Torres. "We had a big week and we've got another big week coming up."

Benton takes on North Little Rock and Little Rock Catholic.

Against Sheridan, the Yellowjackets jumped to an 8-1 lead in the first period, but the Warriors defense held strong and only gave up two points in the second quarter to trail at halftime 10-4.

Another defensive stand in the third period that limited Sheridan to a field goal allowed the Warriors to get closer, 12-10.

Benton finished the fourth quarter by outscoring Sheridan 9-7 to tie the game 19-19 at the end of regulation.

In the first overtime, both teams managed only one basket to make it a 21-21 game, forcing a second OT period. That's when the Warriors stepped up to outscore Sheridan 8-3 to take the victory.

Eddie Poland led Benton with 10 points, while Ashton Roberts scored seven. Sheridan was led by Mark Perkins with 10 points.

Earlier in the week, the Warriors convincingly defeated archrival Bryant by seven points. Benton outscored Bryant 10-8 in the first quarter and posted a 22-15 halftime lead.

The Warriors outscored the Hornets 11-4 in the third period to take a 33-19 lead into the final stanza. Although Bryant outscored Benton 14-11 in the fourth period, Benton's lead was too much.

Roberts and Poland led Benton with 11 points each, while Luke Vance added eight points. Bryant was led by Tyler Gattin with nine points and Brian Floyd with eight.

"The key to the game was us shooting 15 of 23 from the free throw stripe," Torres said. "Bryant was 7 out of 17."

The Warriors eighth-graders beat Bethel 38-13 to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Benton freshmen girls looking for first victory after rough week

The Benton Lady Warriors are still looking for a conference victory of the season after a rough first week in league play.

Benton lost to Bryant 27-16 and fell to Sheridan 30-18.

"It's getting to be a broken record," said Lady Warriors head coach Chris Gabe. "The defense did a good job by holding them to only 27. We had a great first quarter, which was by far the best quarter we have played all year. We shot the ball often and well. Bryant used a full-court pressure the rest of the game and it gave us trouble."

Katelyn Simmons and Akana Forbess led Benton's scoring with four points each. Kara Franklin, Rose McGuire, Sydney Belcher and Mary Marsh all had two points each.

Against Sheridan, the Lady Warriors fought back and forth with the Lady Stingers and trailed by only a point 19-18 by the end of the third quarter.

Sheridan outscored Benton 11-0 to win the game by 12 points.

Last week, the Lady Warriors fell at Greenbrier 34-16. Karis Hentschel led Benton with four points, while Bridget Bloxom hit a three-pointer as time expired. Frankin, McGuire, Belcher and Marsh all scored two points each.

"Once again, our defense is doing okay, but our offense is just not getting it done," Gabe said. "We played very well in the first quarter, giving up only seven points on defense. The offense did a good job, putting up six points and having only four turnovers. The second and third quarters, we had more turnovers than we took shots. We got away from the game plan and quit being aggressive."

In eighth-grade action, Bethel defeated Benton 24-21. The Lady Warriors led 7-6 after the first quarter and held a 13-8 halftime lead. Bethel came back to take a 17-16 lead and ended up winning the game by three points.

Bailey Gately was the leading scorer with 10 points. Haley Bryant and Emily Parker added four points each, followed by Hailey Durham with two points and Lauren White added a free throw.

"I am very proud of the progress that the girls have made," Gabe said.