Ben’s Ford Christian School’s Lady Eagles suffered a 49-35 loss to Central Private in the first round of the MAIS District 6AA Tournament, which took place at Bowling Green Tuesday.

The Lady Eagles led, 24-23, at halftime.

“The second half, we just turned the ball over too many times,” Ben’s Ford coach Mark McGehee said. “We didn’t execute in the third quarter like we did in the first half.”

Savanna Smith led the Lady Eagles with 20 points.

Madison Crawford was next at five. Cheyenne Riley posted four points while Liv Miley and Calli Sprehe contributed three each for Ben’s Ford.

The loss eliminated Ben’s Ford from the tournament.

Ben’s Ford finished with a 2-21 record. Despite the record, McGehee said the team competed for a longer period of time in the tougher games this season.

The team featured three seniors including, power forward/center Smith, point guard Riley and Crawford, who played the wing.

All three players are starters.

McGehee praised the three.

“I’m just real proud of their play, their leadership, and their determination on the court,” McGehee said. “They’ll be sadly missed.”

Central Private advances to play top-seeded Bowling Green tonight, with the scheduled tip time at 7:45.

The top three teams from this tournament advance to the Class AA South State Tournament, which is set for Feb. 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14 at Brookhaven Academy.