Vilonia defeated a deep Van Buren team in the first round, 68-52. The Lady Eagles were led by Sidni Middleton Sidni Middleton 5'10" | PG Vilonia | 2025 State AR , who has been fantastic all season.

Middleton put up 15 points in the victory. She also grabbed a couple of boards and picked an assist.

Van Buren learned how dangerous Middleton is with the ball in her hands. She is an outstanding shooter who can create her own shot in just a couple dribbles. If the outside shot is not there, then she can drive inside and finish through contact.

Vilonia has Valley View on the schedule for tomorrow, so that will be a great matchup.

Sidni Middleton Sidni Middleton 5'10" | PG Vilonia | 2025 State AR being the game’s leading scorer is no surprise. She has been Vilonia’s superstar throughout her high school career, and she remained their main offensive catalyst last night.

Middleton put up 22 points along with 8 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. Middleton was efficient scoring from outside, going 3/5 on the night. Several of her shots were way behind the 3-point line, including the clutch triple that forced overtime. Middleton was a major focus for Central on the perimeter, so when the perimeter defense was too tight, she would drive past it and pull up for mid-range jumpers. Middleton also attacked the paint from the baseline multiple times, scoring underneath or passing back out to the perimeter.

Sidni Middleton Sidni Middleton 5'10" | PG Vilonia | 2025 State AR is going to continue to be the primary scorer for the Lady Eagles this season, and after games like last night, it is a no-brainer as to why she is #5 in the 2025 class, and a Tennessee-Martin commit.

Sidni Middleton Sidni Middleton 5'10" | PG Vilonia | 2025 State AR was the lone Division I commit on the floor for either team, but she had a slow first half, only recording two points. However, she woke up in the second half and tried to pull Vilonia back into the game.

Middleton’s first points were off a nice back-door cut, where she caught the defender sleeping and became an easy target for her passing teammate to find. In the second half, Middleton was able to find ways to penetrate through the defense, getting looks at the rim. She was also able to pull up and hit mid-range jumpers, despite tough contests. Middleton even showed off her high IQ on offense.

During the third quarter, Middleton was inbounding the ball under her basket on the baseline. No one was getting open, and since the player defending the inbound pass had her back turned, Middleton threw the ball off her back, caught it, and scored an easy basket in the paint.

Sidni Middleton Sidni Middleton 5'10" | PG Vilonia | 2025 State AR finished the game with 13 points, 11 of them coming in the second half. Expect the UT-Martin commit to have more impactful scoring outings during the 2024/25 season.

She reminds me of Paige Bueckers. Proven she can shoot; I saw Sidni driving left and pulling off a sick spin move on her defender to finish on the other side…. she is a pure scorer. She can pull up from 3 off the dribble or drive and hit a 13-footer over defenders in the high post(mid-range). What’s most impressive about her game is her defense. Sidni dives on the floor for all 50/50 balls and creates chaos for her opponents while on defense. She’s committed to the University of Tennessee Martin and is focused on a state title before leaving high school. Creating space for herself is a development that will blossom with more experience. One can tell she works on her game and plays well with her peers while learning. Can’t wait this ball handling wizard in action this season!