The Chillicothe Lady Hornets pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the girls basketball season in northwest Missouri to date, stunning the #2 ranked (MBCA Class 4) Benton Lady Cardinals, 33-27 on Thursday night at Springer Gymnasium in St. Joseph.
The Lady Hornets struggled early against once-beaten Benton, trailing 9-1 after one quarter, and finding themselves in an 11 point hole in the second quarter. However, on a night when the normally potent Lady Cardinal perimeter game struggled with accuracy, Chillicothe began a steady comeback to apply increased pressure on the home favorites.
At the half, the Lady Hornets only had seven points, but their own stout defense had Darren Smith’s team very much in the game, trailing 14-7. A turning point in the game occurred at the third quarter horn, as Chillicothe’s Catey Trout, fouled on a long-distance heave, hit all three free throws, rallying CHS to a 19-19 tie.
With Benton continuing to scuffle offensively in the final quarter, with a pair of baskets by Kennadie Kieffer, who finished with nine points, helping to give the Lady Hornets the lead for good. Hunter Keithley had eight points for Chillicothe, while Benton was led by Gabby Fuller with eight points, with Jayde Williams and Mia Henderson both tallying five.
The win came at a crucial point of the MEC race for Chillicothe, with the Lady Hornets having lost to Smithville on Monday night. The Lady Hornets are now 13-6 overall and 2-1 in MEC play, with Benton slipping to 19-2 overall, now taking a loss to significantly tighten up the girls race.
Elsewhere in the MEC on Thursday night, the Lafayette Lady Irish beat visiting Cameron 56-33, with Tray Byrd scoring 17 and Meghan Byous 12 to lead the “North Siders”. Cameron had 12 points from Sydney Nichols.
The Smithville girls won at Maryville, 39-31. The Lady Spoofhounds, falling to 8-11 on the season, had a game-high 18 points from freshman Serena Sundell. Lexi Moes paced Smithville with 17 points.
Bishop LeBlond and Savannah will play tonight (Friday night) in a girls/boys varsity doubleheader at Savannah High School.
