Benton Academy’s Lady Raiders will live to play another day after defeating Greenville Christian 38-34 on Wednesday night.
The Lady Raiders got on the board first with a Lake Shipp free throw before GCS hit a 3-pointer and a layup to take a 5-1.
Madilyn Manor proceeded to take over the game. She went on an 11-2 run to give Benton a 12-7 lead.
Greenville Christian slowly chipped away at the lead and finally tied things up with a 3-pointer to make it 19-19 before hitting a pair of free throws to give them a 21-19 lead, their first since early in the first quarter.
A free throw by Ana Posey Jones and a 3-pointer by Aubrey Taylor, her third of the half, gave Benton a 23-21 lead at the half.
Manor was not slowed at all by the break. The sophomore started the third quarter with a layup and a jump shot to give Benton a 27-21 lead.
After a layup by GCS, back-to-back layups by Taylor and Manor extended Benton’s lead to 31-23, their largest lead of the game.
The Lady Saints would not go quietly into the night. A Lake Shipp layup was sandwiched between a GCS 3-pointer and three straight GCS layups to make it a 33-32 game with 4:05 left to play.
The Lady Raiders would not be shaken. Two Manor free throws paired with a layup and a free throw by Jones pushed Benton’s lead back to 38-32, icing the game.
Greenville Christian hit two free throws with mere seconds left, but it was not enough. Benton won 38-34.
The win was a pleasant surprise to Benton Academy head basketball coach Hall Redfearn, who has begun to prepare his team for the future.
“This was a big win for us,” Redfearn said. “We don’t have any seniors, so we’re looking to next year. Every game we play from here on out is a plus. It gives us time to improve for next year. I will have my whole team coming back.”
Madilyn Manor led the way for Benton offensively with 19 points.
Ana Posey Jones chipped in with five points.
According to Redfearn, Manor and Jones will be looked upon to be leaders next year.
“Madilyn still has some things to learn, but she’s really getting better,” Redfearn said. “Posey played well too. She didn’t score as much, but she made some really nice passes. I think we’ll be looking for those two to score next year.”
Aubrey Taylor had a really big game in the win, hitting three 3-pointers and a layup to add 11 points.
Redfearn believes it would be big for the team if Taylor could continue to shoot that way.
“Aubrey was red hot last night,” Redfearn said. “It was really big for us, and it would be really big moving forward if she can keep that going. Anytime you have someone that can shoot the ball, it forces a defender to stay with them. That will really help us driving the lane.”
Lake Shipp rounded things out with three points in the win.
