By ISAAC BOURNE | The Arkadelphian

The Arkadelphia Lady Badgers (16-8) hung with the elusive Nashville Screpperettes (23-3) for three quarters Tuesday night in a tough 88-40 loss. After the first half, the Lady Badgers trailed by just 17 at the half to the perennial powerhouse.

Senior forward Makayla Gentry scored nine points in the outing while sophomore and freshman guards TeTe Tate and Zalayiah Jackson dropped seven points. Senior guard Liyah Smith also had six in the game.

“Just executing the little details that allowed us to not turn the ball over kept us in the game for so long,” head coach Jonathan Klein said. “We felt that if we could take care of the ball on offense, we would have a chance to be in the game and it showed in the first half.”

This game takes Arkadelphia into their final regular-season game as they head to Malvern Friday night to take on the Leopards in a rivalry game. The Lady Badgers have cemented themselves as the third seed in the conference, but are not looking at this game as an easy win.

Klein said, “The goal for every day, practice or game, is to continuously get better so we can be the best we possibly can be.”