They Chillicothe Lady Hornets were at Lathrop again Wednesday night in the Bill Burns Shootout facing the North Platte Panthers. Both teams entered the contest with strong records, Chillicothe at 11-1 while North Platte was 9-4.
The Lady Hornets used an early 8-0 run to go ahead 8-3 then continued the momentum to a 19-6 edge after the first quarter. The Lady Hornets had a noteworthy game from senior Lyla Beetsma who scored a team high 13 points, with 11 coming in the first half. Beetsma was everywhere on the floor for Chillicothe, aside from scoring she was finding her teammates for open looks, rebounded the ball inside, while causing problems defensively with several steals and blocks. As a team the Lady Hornets halfcourt defense was excellent. North Platte averages 50 points per game on the season but was held to just 10 in the first half as Chillicothe established a 25 point halftime lead.
The third quarter was more of the same from Chillicothe’s defense. North Platte did not manage to score until the final 30 seconds of the quarter and Chillicothe was ahead 43-13 going into the 4th. Lydia Bonderer joined Beetsma in double figures scoring, the junior was aggressive driving to the basket, finishing with a game high five made field goals.
Coach Darren Smith allowed the starters to sit the entirety of the 4th quarter as Chillicothe provided experience to everyone on the roster. Ten different Lady Hornets scored on the night, as Chillicothe held North Platte to their lowest offensive total of the season in a 54-28 victory.
Chillicothe will be back in action on Thursday night hosting Mid-Buchanan.
Chillicothe 19 35 43 54
North Platte 6 10 13 28
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Beetsma 13, Bonderer 11, Lexy Smith 7, Emerson Staton 6, Hayden Hansen 4, Jordan Foster 4, Isabel Nagel 3, Dawson Baxter 2, Mya Oliver 2, Maddie Robinson 2
North Platte – Allyson Smith 8, Megan Schuster 8, Annabell DeBord 5, Emily Goodlet 5, Kate Wolf 2