The Chillicothe Lady Hornets used a record setting defense to open the Lawson Basketball Tournament with a 55 to 9 win over Penney of Hamilton. The nine points are the fewest ever allowed by the Chillicothe Lady Hornets in the modern era of Girls basketball, which began in 1974. The old record was ten points set against Stewartsville in 1982.
Chillicothe rolled to an 18-1 lead against Hamilton by the end of the first quarter. Coach Darren Smith said despite the score, Penney of Hamilton’s players battled all night long.
Chillicothe was led by Jessica Reeter with 16 points, Bre Pithan and Izzie Montgomery each with 8, Essie Hicks and Delanie Kieffer both with 6, Clara Leamer with 4, Cali Burkhard with 3, Jolie Bonderer and Kayanna Cranmer each with two and playing time for Lucy Reeter, Ellie Barnett and Madison Albaugh.
Penney of Hamilton was led by Madi Allen with 4 points.
Chillicothe plays Lawson in the semi-finals Thursday at 5:00pm.