The Benton Lady Tigers claimed a share of their second straight District 1-4A championship with a 63-27 victory over Northwood on Friday at Benton.
Benton (30-3, 13-1) and Minden (29-3, 13-1) tied for first and will share the title. The Lady Tiders closed the regular season with a 62-52 victory over Huntington.
According to unofficial Class 4A power rankings on louisianasportsline.com, Benton is No. 1 and will go into the playoffs as the top seed. Defending state champion Warren Easton (27-5), which Benton defeated 45-43 in the Battle on the Hardwood on Nov. 16, is No. 2 and Minden is No. 3.
Official power rankings and playoff pairings will be released by the LHSAA on Monday. First-round games are Thursday.
The Bossier Lady Kats are No. 26 in the unofficial power rankings and will be going to the playoffs. Bossier (11-20, 7-7) closed the regular season with a 66-34 victory over North DeSoto at home.
In a battle for second place in District 1-5A, the Haughton Lady Bucs fell to Southwood 59-49 at Haughton.
Haughton (17-11, 8-4) is No. 33 in the unofficial Class 5A power rankings. The top 32 teams generally make the playoffs. At No. 34, Southwood (14-13, 9-3) could also be on the outside looking in.
In another District 1-5A game, the Airline Lady Vikings defeated Evangel Christian 48-29 at Evangel.
Airline (16-16, 7-5) is No. 35 in the unofficial rankings. The Lady Vikings finished with 16 wins and a .500 record despite losing Zahria Lloyd, one of the top athletes in the area, to a knee injury early in the season.
Another player expected to be a major contributor, Taaliyah Johnson, suffered a knee injury during the summer. Airline also had a veteran starter leave the team around midseason.
In a District 1-1A game, the Plain Dealing Lady Lions lost to Homer 48-34 at home. Plain Dealing (4-17, 2-10) is No. 29 in the Class 1A power rankings. All 32 teams in 1A qualify for the playoffs.
At Benton, Jada Anderson scored all 20 of her points in the first half as the Lady Tigers rolled to a 41-12 lead.
Qua Chambers added 15 points. In her final regular-season game, Emily Ward scored 10.
At Haughton, the Lady Bucs played without sophomore standout Taralyn Sweeney, who suffered a sprained ankle in a victory over Evangel on Tuesday.
Haughton started strong and led 29-21 at the half. But Southwood rallied in the third quarter and led 41-40 going into the fourth.
The Lady Cowboys pulled away, hitting two 3-pointers and making 11 of 16 free throws.
Taylor Brokenberry led Haughton with 14 points. Takaiyah Sweeney and DeShounia Davis added 13 each.
Haughton’s 17 wins were the most since the Lady Bucs won 19 in the 2014-15 season.
At Evangel, Toria Brocks led Airline with 21 points. Kayla Hampton added 10.
The Lady Vikings led 22-16 at the half and then pulled away with a 14-4 third-quarter run.
