It was all Watson Chapel in Tuesday’s 6A/5A blended district opener at Benton Arena. The 5A defending state champion Lady Wildcats jumped to a 9-0 lead on their way to a 19-3 first quarter advantage in an eventual 57-27 win over the Benton Lady Panthers on Tuesday.
“They’re a good basketball team and she (Watson Chapel Coach Leslie Henderson) told me after the game that’s the best they shot it all year,” Benton Coach Jerry Chumley said. “That made me feel better. What we watched on film, they didn’t shoot the ball well. That’s why we played them zone, but boy they lit our zone up. And of course when you go man, they overpower you with their size.”
The Lady Wildcats (10-2) finished 23 of 44 from the field (52 percent), including 6 of 15 from 3-point range, while holding the Lady Panthers to 9 of 38 shooting (24 percent).
“We would have had to play our best game offensively and defensively to play with them, really,” Chumley said. “We were just outmanned at just about every position.”
Benton (6-8, 0-1) trailed 29-9 at the half, but showed some energy to start the third quarter. Consecutive buckets by junior forward Makenzy Davidson, including an offensive rebound and put back, brought Benton within 31-14 with 6:04 left, but the Lady Wildcats were just too much for Benton as they finished the quarter leading 49-21.