Russell Conwell/Student Correspondent
Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

BENTON — The Benton Rangerettes and the Hamilton County Lady Foxes faced off in the Benton 2A Regional Championship game. The Lady Foxes were also looking for revenge, after they lost to the Benton in their first meeting, but the Rangerettes pulled away in the second half for a 36-19 win.

Both teams struggled to score early leading the two teams to be all tied up at six points apiece after one quarter.

It stayed the same tempo for the most part in the second quarter, but Rangerettes forward Braelyn Miller stood out, with three points, two steals, and multiple rebounds in the quarter. Benton went into the half leading 16-15 on Jaycee Eubanks’ buzzer-beating putback jumper.

To start the second half, the scoring was once again slow, as the Lady Foxes were the only team to score until the five minute mark. After that it escalated quickly for Benton, with the Rangerettes finishing the third quarter on a 8-0 run. Ensley Tedeschi’s fastbreak layup at the buzzer capped the run, giving Benton a 28-19 going into the fourth quarter of play. Tedeschi led the team with 14 points.

Once again in the fourth quarter the offense was slow, as neither team scored until Tedeschi made a free throw at the 5:45 mark. The scoring didn’t pick up until the final two minutes of the game, as Benton added seven points late to score the game’s final 16 points going back to the third quarter.

The Rangerettes improve to 23-5 and will be headed to the Nashville Sectional to play Breese Mater Dei Tuesday night at 7:30. The Lady Foxes ended their season with a record of 24-6. Hamilton County only had three seniors. They’ll return four starters next winter.

Notes: Eldorado’s Adrianna Hendrix, Benton’s Mia Wills and Tedeschi, and Hamilton County’s Dacey Webb all move on to the Nashville Sectional in the 3-point Shootout.