Trojans tame Wildcats in Benton
BENTON — Hot Springs opened up its account in the Benton Classic on Thursday with a 53-37 win against former 5A-South conference foe Watson Chapel.
Head coach Antoni Lasker called it a “good, hardfought win against a scrappy Watson Chapel ball club.” The Wildcats are 1-3 this season.
Hot Springs (4-2) was led by 14 points from sophomore Caleb Campbell and 10 more from sophomore guard J.J. Walker. Junior Santiair Thomas and freshman center Jabari West each scored eight points, while senior Eddie Miles added seven points.
The Trojans will play again today at 2:30 p.m. in Benton against Vilonia (5-6).
Girls
The Hot Springs senior high girls’ basketball team continued its competitive stretch to start the season with a 43-27 loss to Vilonia.
Vilonia (9-1) jumped out to a 15-2 lead in the first quarter and only outscored Hot Springs (1-4), 28-25, the rest of the way. The Lady Eagles made the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state playoffs last season.
The Lady Trojans outscored the Lady Eagles, 109, in the second quarter. Vilonia extended its lead to
33-17 to start the final quarter.
Hot Springs was led by eight points from sophomore guard Jaylia Reed. Seniors Bre Collins and Kiah Beauford each scored six points.
The Lady Trojans are scheduled to play in Benton again today at 1 p.m. against West Memphis (3-2).
Junior Wolves win CAJHC openers
PEARCY — The Lake Hamilton junior high basketball teams opened play in the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference on Thursday with wins against the Cabot North Panthers at Wolf Arena.
The junior Lady Wolves (8-3, 1-0) held Cabot North scoreless in the first quarter and coasted to a 43-22 victory. The score was 30-2 at halftime.
Audri Winfrey scored all 13 of her points in the first half.
“Audri Winfrey really stepped it up for us on the offensive end tonight,” said Lake Hamilton junior high coach Maribeth Richards.
“We’ve been needing another girl to step into a scoring role, and we’ve thought, since this summer, that Audri could be the girl to fill that roll. She was very aggressive on the defensive end, which led to easy layups for her on the offensive end off of her steals.”
Hayleigh Wyrick also finished with 13 points, including 11 in the first half. Ginny Higginbotham added 10 points.
The junior high teams are off until Lake Hamilton hosts the Kameron Hale Invitational Dec. 27-29 at Wolf Arena. They will resume conference play on Jan. 7 against North Little Rock.
Boys
Lake Hamilton also won the junior high boys’ game, 42-26, to move to 11-0 this season.
“Despite a slow first half, the Wolves came out in the second half with a solid performance on both ends of the floor,” said Lake Hamilton junior high coach Bobby Tedder.
Chase Jessup led the junior Wolves with 15 points and Gavin Robbins finished with 12. Cade Robinson and Zac Pennington each added six points.
Arkansas announces spring slate for women’s tennis
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas women’s tennis head coach Courtney Steinbock announced the Razorbacks’ 2019 spring schedule on Friday morning.
The 24-match schedule includes 14 against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams, 13 against Southeastern Conference opponents and 13 at home in Fayetteville.
Arkansas will open its first season under Steinbock on the road with a doubleheader at Kennesaw State. The team will kick off its home schedule on Jan.
20, hosting Saint Louis at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.
Lakeside alum Thea Rice joined her sister in Fayetteville this season for her first year with the team. Rice won the Class 5A girls’ singles state championship and the Arkansas Activities Association’s Overall State Singles Tournament title a year ago for the Lady Rams.
Tatum Rice is now a sophomore in Fayetteville after going 14-18 overall in singles play last season. She was 15-5 at the team’s No. 1 doubles spot, going
14-5 with partner Ana Oparenovic.