The Benton Lady Tigers advanced to the “Doc” Edwards Invitational girls championship game with a 56-25 victory over the Haughton Lady Bucs Thursday night at Bossier.
Benton (11-6) will face Gibsland-Coleman (18-3) for the title at 6 p.m. Friday at Airline. The Lady Bulldogs, who were the Class C runners-up last season, defeated Airline 48-29 in the other semifinal.
The Airline Vikings and Bossier Bearkats both lost in the boys semifinals. Airline dropped a 54-49 decision to Huntington and Bossier fell to Captain Shreve 40-38.
Huntington and Shreve won’t meet in the championship game though.
Because of an incident in a preseason game between the Gators and the Raiders where multiple players were ejected, the teams were advised not to play each other again, Captain Shreve Athletic Director Todd Sharp said. So the switch gives both teams an opportunity for another game.
Captain Shreve (12-3) will play Airline (9-7) in the third-place game at 4:30. Huntington (12-5) and Bossier (9-6), longtime rivals and both again members of District 1-4A, will face off in the championship game at 7:30.
Haughton (15-5) plays Airline (14-5) at 3 in the girls third-place game.
Action at Airline gets started at noon with the girls consolation finals between Byrd (11-4) and Booker T. Washington (7-6).
Loyola (7-8) takes on BTW (8-7) in the boys consolation finals at 1:30.
The Benton and Haughton girls teams met for the second time this season. Benton won 44-32 in a District 1-5A game on Dec. 17.
Haughton played without starting guard Abbie Hooper Thursday.
Ten Benton players scored led by Marissa Schoth with 13, Tate Sellers with 12 and Maddy Ryan with 10.
Kenyetta Glover led Haughton with six.
Airline struggled to score in its loss to Gibsland-Coleman.
Despite scoring only three points in the second quarter, the Lady Vikings were still within striking distance at the half, trailing 21-13.
But a couple of 3-pointers in the third quarter helped the Lady Bulldogs pull away.
Ke’Zyriah Sykes and Addison McDowell led Airline with seven and six points, respectively.
Samora Sampson, a first-team Class C All-State selection last season, led Gibsland-Coleman with 23 points. Bailey Haulcy added 15.
The Airline boys came close to rallying from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Vikings cut the lead to 52-49 on a layup by Bryson Broom with with 21.1 seconds left.
The Vikings had an opportunity to make a steal or force a turnover with a trap along the sideline but a foul was called. Kentravis Green made two free throws to give the Raiders the 54-49 lead with 18.8 seconds left.
Huntington then forced a turnover, sealing the victory.
Trey Carter led Huntington with 15 points, including three 3-pointers in the second quarter. Green chipped in 10.
Colby O’Glee led Airline with 14 points. Jeremiyah Stafford had 10 and Broom eight.
Bossier and Shreve were tied at 29 after three quarters, and the Gators pulled out the victory. The teams had split two previous games this season.
In girls quarterfinal games Thursday, Benton defeated Homer 66-27, Airline edged Hornbeck 63-61, Gibsland-Coleman downed Winnfield 51-47 and Haughton defeated Zwolle 47-46.
Schoth led Benton with 10 points. Tate Sellers, Addison Morris and Taylor Martinez all scored nine. Danielle Colemon had seven.
In boys quarterfinal games, Airline defeated Minden 48-32, Bossier downed Benton 57-45 and Huntington dropped Lakeview 71-59.
O’Glee and Jackson led Airline with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Tahj Roots paced Bossier with 18 points. Javon Johnson added 15 and Keyshun Johnson 12.
Greg Manning led Benton with 18 points. Trey Smith scored nine.
In girls consolation quarterfinal games, Loyola defeated Haynesville 38-35, Byrd defeated Minden 56-46, BTW dropped Logansport 67-38 and Northwood topped St. Mary’s 54-42.
In the semifinals, Byrd downed Loyola 53-23 and BTW defeated Northwood 49-40.
In boys consolation quarterfinal games, Loyola defeated Hornbeck 46-37, Gibsland-Coleman downed Northwood 58-38 and BTW edged Parkway 64-62.
In the semifinals, Loyola defeated Gibsland-Coleman 55-50, and BTW defeated Ringgold 52-31.
