Freshman teams prepare for conference tourney
MARTIN COUCH Sports editor

WARRIORS KEVIN NAGLE AND BRENDA GARNER PHOTOS Above, Benton's Eddie Poland goes for a shot against Cabot. Below, Nick Garner guards an inbounds pass against Lake Hamilton.

Who's number one now in the Central Arkansas Conference? By the time you read this, it will have all been sorted out for the conference tournament in Conway.

However, the Benton Warriors can claim they've beaten the top two teams in the conference in back-to-back games. After defeating North Little Rock to give them two losses, the Warriors upset top-ranked Cabot South on Tuesday 28-24.

"I have a question - who is number one?" said Benton head coach David Torres. "Our kids did the job. Against North Little Rock, some people thought that might be a fluke, but we keyed on Cabot's best player and took him out of the game. We put all of our pressure on stopping him and concentrated on the other guy that hurt us in Cabot. They showed their weakness and I was proud of kids for taking advantage of that."

Eddie Poland put the Warriors ahead 3-0 on a 3-pointer from the wing, then after Cabot came back to tie, Poland scored inside and Luke Vance hit a 3-pointer to make it an 8-3 lead after the first quarter.

Vance scored again to begin the second period and added a free throw before Nick Garner scored inside for a 13-5 lead. Poland added a free throw and Garner made two from the line to make for a 16-9 halftime lead for Benton.

Poland and Aric Powers made a free throw each for the Warriors to start a rough third quarter. After Ashton Robert's acrobatic layup in the lane, Vance got into foul trouble and Nate Griffin picked up his third and fourth fouls in a span of 30 seconds. Cabot was able to close to within 20-16 by the end of the quarter.

Two free throws from Poland and a basket by Garner made it 24-16. Cabot scored twice, before Roberts hit another layup. The Panthers got as close as two points, but Poland scored on a one-handed driving layup over the defense with one minute to play and the Warriors held on for the four-point victory.

"These guys have won 20 games in their career - nine as eighth graders and 11 this year so far - and they did well in their last game at home," Torres said.

LADY WARRIOR KEVIN NAGLE PHOTO Benton Lady Warrior Kara Franklin dribbles through two Cabot defenders.

The Warriors came back later in the week to defeat Lake Hamilton in Percy 29-25.

Benton trailed Lake Hamilton 11-9 after the first quarter and were behind 15-14 at the half. The Warriors took a one-point lead by the end of the third period 21-19 and outscored Lake Hamilton 8-6 in the final period to win the game by four points.

"This was our first win at Lake Hamilton in junior high since I have come to Benton," Torres said. "I was very proud of our guys for handling the adversity in a hostile environment."

Garner led Benton with seven points, while Roberts and Griffin both had six points.

After playing Conway White in Conway on Monday night, the Warriors will prepare for the conference tournament on Saturday in Conway.

LADY WARRIORS

The Benton Lady Warriors played their last game at home this season like champions.

FRESHMEN KEVIN NAGLE PHOTOS Above, Benton Lady Warrior Akana Forbess goes up for a shot against Cabot. Below, Bryant Lady Hornet Taylor Neal drives down court against Mount St. Mary's.

Benton defeated Cabot South 32-30 to notch their second Central Arkansas Conference victory and more importantly, take that winning momentum into the conference tournament in Conway this week.

"It was big for us," said Benton head coach Chris Gabe. "We have watched film and worked really hard, because we knew this game was one we could win if we executed well and we were waiting for it. The girls got out there and did a lot of it. They hit big shots and got rebounds. They told me before the game they wanted to win this and they did. I was very proud of them."

Akana Forbess tied the game in the early stages of the first quarter with a jumper, then Sydney Belcher scored inside to tie Cabot 4-4 seconds later. Forbess hit another jumper to make it a 6-6 game and Kara Franklin put in a free throw to put the Lady Warriors up 7-6 by the end of the first quarter.

Franklin added a short jumper, then Forbess put in a layup and Belcher made an offensive rebound basket, but Cabot led 14-13 at halftime.

Cabot went ahead by as much as 18-13 early in the third period, but Belcher, Forbess and Rose McGuire scored baskets to make it 20-19. Forbess got loose for a layup and Benton went in front by one, then McGuire scored on a layup after a steal to make it a 23-20 lead by the end of the third period.

Forbess added another layup and Karis Hentchel put in a free throw to make it 26-23 Benton with 2:19 to play. Franklin made a steal and threw to Forbess for a layup, then Forbess made a steal and drove the length of the court for a layup for a 30- 23 lead. Franklin put in a shot through the lane to make it a seven-point lead with 19.2 seconds to play, which was just enough time for Cabot to score five points. Cabot hit their last shot with one second showing, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Lady Warriors.

"Ever since Christmas, I feel like we've been in every game," Gabe said. "We're getting better and we want to compete in the conference tournament. We may end up playing the north's number one or two, but they have to come play us and we're going to give them a game.

PHIL HOBBY AND KEVIN NAGLE HORNETS PHOTOS Above, Bryant's Tyler Gattin, and, below, Houston Garner shoots.

These girls might mess up, but they aren't going to make the same mistakes twice. They are gritty and when they get mad, they put into the game and that's what we're wanting them to do."

LADY HORNETS

The Bryant Lady Hornet freshmen defeated Mount St. Mary's and lost to North Little Rock last week.

Against North Little Rock, the Lady Hornets trailed 6-5 after the first quarter and trailed 16-5 at halftime after not scoring in the second period.

The Lady Hornets closed the gap in the third period to 19-13, but couldn't get any closer than five points in the fourth period.

Marie Mueller led Bryant with nine points, while Taylor Neal added five, Abbi Stearns scored three, Sydney Hoffmans and Rachel Tucker both had a basket and Tarra Hendricks added a free throw.

"The second quarter really hurt us," said Bryant head coach Eric Andrews. "North Little Rock did a great job keeping us out of any rhythm offensively. We played a great defensive game. When you can hold that team to 27 points you have done something. We have just got to do a better job of finding ways to score. I was very proud of the effort that the girls gave in the second half. We battled back and gave ourselves a chance at the end. It is just very hard to dig a hole like we did and come back against a team as good as North Little Rock."

CENTRAL ARKANSAS FRESHMAN CONFERENCE

BOYS
NORTH
SEARCY 11-1
GREENBRIER 10-2
CONWAY BLUE 9-3
VILONIA 8-4
RUSSELLVILLE WEST 4-8
RUSSELLVILLE EAST 3-9
CABOT NORTH 2-10
MORRILTON 1-11

SOUTH
CABOT SOUTH 10-2
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 10-2
BENTON 9-4
CONWAY WHITE 8-5
BRYANT 7-6
LAKE HAMILTON 4-9
LR CATHOLIC 2-11
SHERIDAN 0-12

GIRLS
NORTH
GREENBRIER 12-1
RUSSELLVILLE EAST 11-2
VILONIA 10-3
SEARCY 7-6
CABOT NORTH 6-7
RUSSELLVILLE WEST 3-10
CONWAY BLUE 3-10
MORRILTON 0-13

SOUTH
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 13-0
SHERIDAN 7-5
BRYANT 8-5
CONWAY WHITE 8-5
MOUNT ST. MARY'S 7-6
CABOT SOUTH 4-8
BENTON 2-11
LAKE HAMIILTON 2-11

CENTRAL ARKANSAS FRESHMAN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT AT CONWAY

BOYS
FEB. 16, GYM 1
4 SOUTH VS. 5 NORTH, 10 A.M.
3 NORTH VS. 6 SOUTH, 12:30 P.M.
2 SOUTH VS. 7 NORTH, 3 P.M.
1 NORTH VS. 8 SOUTH, 5:30 P.M.
GYM 2
4 NORTH VS. 5 SOUTH, 10 A.M.
3 SOUTH VS. 6 NORTH, 12:30 P.M.
2 NORTH VS. 7 SOUTH, 3 P.M.
1 SOUTH VS. 8 NORTH, 5:30 P.M.

GIRLS
GYM 1
4 SOUTH VS. 5 NORTH, 11:15 A.M.
3 NORTH VS. 6 SOUTH, 1:45 P.M.
2 SOUTH VS. 7 NORTH, 4:15 P.M.
1 NORTH VS. 8 SOUTH, 6L45 P.M.
GYM 2
4 NORTH VS. 5 SOUTH, 11:15 A.M.
3 SOUTH VS. 6 NORTH, 1:45 P.M.
2 NORTH VS. 7 SOUTH, 4:15 P.M.
1 SOUTH VS. 8 NORTH, 6:45 P.M

QUARTER FINALS MONDAY, FEB. 18
BOYS GYM 2
WINNER OF 2 SOUTH-7 NORTH VS. WINNER OF 3 NORTH-6 SOUTH, 5:15
WINNER OF 1 NORTH-8 SOUTH VS. WINNER OF 4 SOUTH-5 NORTH, 7:45
GYM 1
WINNER OF 2 NORTH-7 SOUTH VS. WINNER OF 3 SOUTH-6 NORTH, 5:15
WINNER OF 1 SOUTH-8 NORTH VS. WINNER OF 4 NORTH-5 SOUTH, 7:45
GIRLS GYM 2
WINNER OF 2 SOUTH-7 NORTH VS. WINNER OF 3 NORTH-6 SOUTH, 4:00
WINNER OF 1 NORTH-8 SOUTH VS. WINNER OF 4 SOUTH-5 NORTH, 6:30
GYM 1
WINNER OF 2 NORTH-7 SOUTH VS. WINNER OF 3 SOUTH-6 NORTH, 4:00
WINNER OF 1 SOUTH-8 NORTH VS. WINNER OF 4 NORTH-5 SOUTH, 6:30
SEMIFINALS, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20
CHAMPIONSHIPS, THURSDAY, FEB. 21