Ask any coach and they will tell you there is no such thing as a “moral victory”. Still, despite losing to Class 5A Benton High School on the road this past Friday night, both Lady Wolverine head coach Kyle Leach and QHS boys coach Michael White had to be pleased with the performance delivered by their respective squads. 

Benton, which competes in District 1-5A, won the girl’s game by a 53-37 margin while the Tigers beat the Class B Wolverines 59-56 in the boy’s contest but both QHS teams held a lead at one point and put a serious scare into the much larger school.

The losses in the “David vs Goliath” matchups ended a four-game winning streak by the Lady Wolverines and the QHS boys 18 game streak, which was one of the longest achieved among north Louisiana schools this season. The QHS girls now stand at 14-9 on the year with the boys at 19-3 after both squad’s final tune-up before delving back into District 1B play. 

Benton 59 Quitman 56 (boys): After two-quarters of play and Benton holding what seemed to be a commanding 32-19 lead, the Benton faithful was whooping it up and talking smack. Midway through the fourth quarter, those same fans were sitting on the edges of their seats, almost scared to breathe, as Quitman came roaring back to take a four-point lead late in the contest.

“I didn’t have them ready early in the game, but the boys responded in the 2nd half to come back and take the lead,” QHS head coach Michael Black said in summarizing his team’s effort.

Brayden Martin and Noah Leach led the Wolverines offensive attack with 14 and 13 points respectively, while Larsen Thomas, Gavyn Caskey, and Brayden Smith all chipped in with 6 points each. Abel Leach and Amaurion Thompson finished with four points apiece and Taden Thomas rounded out the scoring with a three-point basket.

Benton  53 Quitman 37 (girls) After spotting the home-standing Lady Tigers a 20-9 advantage, Cali Deal scored 7 straight points to help lift the Lady Wolverines to a 14-point run that gave QHS the lead. Deal would hit 6 of 12 shots to lead Quitman with 19 points but it was a 4 for 31 shooting performance by the rest of the team that spelled doom as Benton took control in the second half. Anna Leach finished with 9 points, Jaleigh Burns and Emma Walker scored four each and Taylor Borland made a free throw for Quitman.