Lady Wolves top El Dorado

El Dorado’s varsity girls got a first-hand look at the premier team in the 5A-South on Friday. Lake Hamilton proved to be just as good as advertised as it ran away to a 71-43 victory at Wildcat Arena.

The Lady Wolves improved to 13-5 overall and 5-0 in conference. The Lady Wildcats fell to 6-13, 2-3.

El Dorado coach Jae Kell said the game was sort of a measuring stick for her young squad against the league leaders.

“Every team they’ve played, they beat by 30. We were trying to keep it around there,” said Kell. “We always go into a game trying to win. We knew they were good. We have kids that are capable of playing better than they did tonight. But it’s about coming out there and playing.”

Lake Hamilton’s Aspen Thornton was a full-court blur. She sliced and diced El Dorado’s defense for 21 points, almost all coming on drives to the basket and lay-ups off steals. Hayleigh Wyrick added 19 with Ginny Higginbotham scoring 10.

Other Lady Wolves scored but Thornton proved to be the biggest thorn in El Dorado’s side.

“They did a lot of screens. We just got lost. We were so worried about (Thornton) driving, that we got lost on where our man was,” Kell said. “She’s a great player. She’s got great vision. When we got lost, she hit the open man for a great shot.”

Lake Hamilton never trailed, pushing out to a 23-10 lead after one quarter and 46-26 at the half. A 15-0 run to close the third gave the Lady Wolves a 67-30 cushion going into the fourth.

The Lady Wildcats kept fighting and outscored Lake Hamilton 12-4 in the final period.

“They didn’t quit. There was a point there I thought they could. They came out and they still competed,” Kell said of her team. “It’s hard to find positives. I will say this, we moved up another freshman, Charalyn Rester, and she really is a big difference. She came in tonight, handled the pressure, handled the ball. It’s a lot different from junior high. I thought she did a really good job, especially against the best team in our conference.”

Tajah Edmondson and Rester scored nine points apiece for El Dorado. LaDiamond Maker contributed seven points and eight rebounds.

The game concluded a rugged three-game week for the Lady Wildcats, who fell at Hot Springs Lakeside on Wednesday after beating Texarkana on Tuesday. A brutal four-game stretch continues with Benton on Tuesday and Sheridan next Friday.

“Three-game week was tough,” said Kell. “You could tell we were a little sluggish. But it is what it is. You just have to play through it. Next week, we’ve already determined those are must-win games to stay alive in the state tournament race.”

Upcoming Events