PINE BLUFF - El Dorado’s girls outscored White Hall 22-5 in the third quarter and pulled away to a 55-39 victory Tuesday in 5A-South action.
In boys action, the Wildcats dropped a 70-65 decision.
The Lady Wildcats improved to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in league play.
El Dorado trailed 10-9 after one quarter. The game was knotted 21-21 at the intermission.
Lindsey Lockhart led the Lady Wildcats with 12 points while London Ingram scored 10, including seven in the third quarter.
“Great team win,” said El Dorado coach Ashlee Curtis. “The energy was amazing from everyone in purple. My bench tonight is the reason we won that game. They were louder than the cheer and dance team from White Hall.”
El Dorado seized control in the third quarter, sparked by Ingram’s offense and aggressive team defense. The Lady Wildcats built a 43-26 lead going into the final period.
White Hall’s Lilly Hood drained three 3-pointers as the Lady Bulldogs closed to within 46-35. But, El Dorado regained control on buckets by Lauren Nelson and Carshaila Rozier and put the game away.
Rozier scored all nine of her points in the second half. Nelson scored eight in the second half. Hood led the Lady Bulldogs with 16, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
El Dorado rebounded after a tough loss at Lake Hamilton on Friday.
“These girls are resilient and bounced back well,” said Curtis. “We play again (Wednesday) in Hot Springs so tomorrow is a test to see how well we can humble ourselves. Best thing about it, if they’re rocking, I’m rolling.”
In the boys’ game, the Wildcats led 20-17 after one quarter but were outscored 20-12 in the second and 19-15 in the third quarter.
White Hall hit 7-of-9 free throws in the final quarter.
David Ayree led El Dorado with 29 points. Laronte McHenry and Bryson Boulden added 14 points apiece for the Wildcats, who hit 10 3-pointers in the game, including four by McHenry.
Jai Hayes led the Bulldogs with 24 points. Randy Emerson and Tavin Dunlop contributed 16 and 12, respectively.