The Chillicothe Lady Hornets were looking for their third consecutive Savannah Tournament title, and 2nd against the host Savannah on Thursday night. Both teams entered the game undefeated and showcased high level skill throughout.
The first half was all about Savannah’s Ella Scott, the senior guard connected on 5 first half three pointers, helping the Savages establish an early lead. Savannah was ahead 29-18 in the 2nd quarter when Chillicothe showcased some long range efforts of their own, Lexy Smith and Lydia Bonderer each hit outside shots to close the gap down to 29-26 at the break. Chillicothe also received a lift from Lyla Beetsma and Emerson Staton in the first half who combined for 17 points in the first two quarters.
The Lady Hornets continued their momentum out of the locker room, spanning a run over halftime of 18-2 that gave Chillicothe a 36-31 edge. Savannah punched right back and tied the game up at 38-38 entering the 4th quarter. Chillicothe once again found themselves trailing when Savannah went ahead 43-38 with under 6 minutes to play. Coach Darren Smith’s team answered the bell again, Ava Leamer knocked in a big three to tie the game then Leamer and Staton each hit a pair of free throws to close out the game with a 50-45 hard fought victory. The Lady Hornets prevented Savannah from making a field goal in the final 5:45 of the game, while getting major production out of Lydia Bonderer in the 2nd half with 12 points. She finished with a team high 16 for the game.
Chillicothe improves to 4-0 on the year and claimed their 3rd straight Savannah Tournament. Smith, Bonderer and Beetsma were all named to the all-tournament team. Chillicothe will play at Knob Noster on Wednesday.
Chillicothe 11 26 38 50
Savannah 16 29 38 45
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Bonderer 16, Beetsma 12, Staton 9, Smith 6, Leamer 5, Dawson Baxter 2
Savannah – Scott 18, Macee Blythe 10, Mylee Schrick 9, Taylor Hilsabeck 3, Lily Musser 3, Ambi Jones 2