SSHS girls defeated at Benton

Benton rallied from a ninepoint halftime deficit to force overtime, and from there outscored Siloam Springs 6-3 in overtime to take a 55-52 victory in a battle of Lady Panthers in the fifth-place game of the 6AWest Conference Tournament on Saturday.

Siloam Springs scored 21 points in the first quarter and led Benton 35-26 at halftime. Benton outscored Siloam Springs 16-5 in the third quarter to take a 42-40 lead going into the fourth.

The game was tied 49-49 after regulation.

“We lost a heartbreaker at Benton,” said Siloam Springs head coach Tim Rippy. “We played probably our best half of basketball this season in the first half. Unfortunately, we had a bad third quarter that allowed them to even up the game. Down the stretch, we executed well, we just needed to hit another shot.”

Chloe Price led Siloam Springs (9-21) with 19 points, while

Morgan Vaughn had 15, Shelby Johnson nine, Hadlee Hollenback seven and Emery Brown two.

Makenzy Davidson led Benton (15-13) with 23 points while Italei Gray had 16 points.

With the win, Benton clinched the No. 5 seed from the 6A-West, while Siloam Springs took the No. 6 spot out of the conference for the Class 6A State Tournament, which begins today in West Memphis.

Siloam Springs plays East No. 3 seed Jonesboro at 4 p.m. in the opening round, with the winner advancing to Thursday’s 7 p.m. game against West No. 2 seed Russellville.

Jonesboro is 23-7 overall and the Hurricane beat Mountain Home 42-34 on Saturday to earn the third seed out of the 6A-East Conference.

“Jonesboro is a great team, evident by their record,” Rippy said. “They have a great player in No. 23 (Elauna) Eaton. She will be one of the most talented players that we have faced all season. We will have to do an outstanding job on both ends of the court to give ourselves an opportunity to win. Our players are capable and we are playing our best basketball right now.”