Ashdown holds off Lady Badgers in Lakeside Classic

Arkadelphia’s Lady Badgers were unable to come back in the second half Thursday, falling to Ashdown’s Lady Panthers, 36-24, in the Lakeside Classic.

Arkadelphia scored only eight points in the opening period. Hannah Fennochi paced the Lady Badgers with two buckets from inside the paint to put them on the board. Jamari Whitaker had a layup midway through the first quarter to bring the score to 17-6.

“This was the first of the year and it’s going to come along, but we were pleased with the game,” said Arkadelphia head coach Jonathan Klein. “Overall, those top six players that we played did a fantastic job working together, sharing the ball and playing hard. It was a good team defense.”

Arkadelphia sophomore Ashari Whitaker added another shot for two points in the second quarter as the Badgers were unable to score again before the break. Going into the half, the Lady Badgers trailed the Lady Panthers 28-8.

Hailey Nix buried a shot from behind the arc early into the third. Ashari Whitaker and Fennochi added a layup apiece to up the Lady Badgers, 34-15, with less than three minutes remaining.

“I thought, defensively, we put forth a great effort especially in the second half,” said Klein. “We started off slow in the first half, but came out in the second half with great effort and outscored them 16-8. I was very pleased in the second half with the offense.

Hannah Calhoun sank a shot from behind the 3-point line in the final quarter. Nix and Jamari Whitaker added layups on the final two possessions to set the final score

Arkadelphia is set to face Jessieville today at 12:30 p.m. inside Lakeside’s Ram Fieldhouse to close the tournament. Ashdown will meet Christian Ministries Academy at 11:15 a.m.