The Arkadelphia High School Badgers and Lady Badgers continue with a busy week both competing in tournaments on Wednesday night.

The Lady Badgers will advance to the semifinals of the Southern Arkansas University tournament. The girls defeated Hamburg, 38-28.

The Lady Badgers and Lady Lions were tied at half-time. 18-18. The Lady Badgers scored twice as many points in the second half as Hamburg to win the game, 38-28.

The Lady Badgers were able to overcome some difficulties early in the game. “We lost Leanndra Thomas in the first quarter early with a knee injury,” Coach Lynn Rook said. Thomas has been the leading scorer for the Lady Badgers for several games. “Then we had some early foul trouble. Emily Strickland took a hard fall late in the game, but she was able to return and probably played her best game of the year.”

Strickland had 17 points, six rebounds and two steals. Chelsea Welch scored eight points and had two assists. Jasmine Dickerson had seven points, four rebounds and four steals.

“It was a game that hopefully will benefit us in the future,” Rook said. “We had some adversities with injuries and we were foul prone. We were able to make adjustments and play more of a half-court game. It made a difference in our defense holding them to only 10 points in the second half. I am proud of these young ladies. They hung in there.

“Emily Strickland stepped up and helped us on offense when we really needed someone to step up. She answered the call.”

Hope defeated Lafayette County, 58-33. Hope will play Magnolia and Arkadelphia will play the winner of that game on Friday at 7:20 p.m.

The Arkadelphia High School Badgers were back on the road to compete in the Fordyce Bank and Trust Classic on Wednesday night. The Badgers lost to the host team Fordyce, 53-33.

The two teams remained close through the first half. The Badgers were down 9-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Redbugs were leading 25-19 at the end of the first half.

“We tied them 27 to 27 early in the third quarter, and we just couldn’t get anything else,” Coach Donald Williams said. “The shots were not falling. It was one of those nights where we didn’t play well.”

The Redbugs pulled away in the third and outscored the Badgers, 15-8. Fordyce scored 16 points in the final quarter to win the game, 53-33.

Schuyler Marks was the leading scorer for the Badgers with 11 points. Marshawn Arnold had nine points and eight rebounds. Trae Bledsoe scored nine points and had seven rebounds. Bradley Mitchell had three steals.

The Badgers had to play without senior point guard Jarvis Purifoy. “He (Purifoy) turned his ankle at Lakeside. He is like the captain of the ship. He helps us run things. That didn’t help us any,” he said.

The game was scheduled for 8:40 p.m., but the tournament ran late and the boys did not hit the floor until 10 p.m.“I don’t know if it was the lateness of the game or the other games that we had played this week,” Williams said.

The Badgers had the first round of the tournament on Monday night against White Hall and then traveled to Lakeside on Tuesday night. “I think they were tired. We had played two hard games back to back. We have a young bunch and they are not used to this kind of play and the intensity of play on this level, emotionally, mentally and physically,” he said. “With this young bunch, these sophomores have never been in this type of situation or environment. It will take some time. I knew that we would be up and down with a young ball club.

“They will bounce back. At the end of the year, it is going to help us to be tournament tested. Next week we will play three games at Russellville. Over Christmas break, we will be in the tournament at Mountain Home,” Williams said.

The Badgers will play the winner of the Malvern and Dollarway game for third place on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.