The Chillicothe Lady Hornets earned a signature victory Saturday night in the championship of the Grain Valley Invitational. They were taking on the hosts, the Class 6 Lady Eagles with a trophy on the line.
Grain Valley started strong, racing out to an 11-6 lead but then the Lady Eagles leading scorer on the season, Addy Seyfert committed her 3rd foul in the first quarter. With Seyfert on the bench, the Hornets immediately went on a 17-1 run to go up double digits in the 2nd quarter. Grain Valley made a late push before halftime and Chillicothe’s lead was 25-18 at the break.
Grain Valley came out of the halftime break on fire, knocking down 3’s as they finished the game with 8 made three point field goals, and retook the lead heading into the 4th quarter. Chillicothe answered every move by the Lady Eagles. The Lady Hornets defense was disruptive, forcing 20 turnovers and Jolie Bonderer was fantastic again tonight, scoring 20 points and grabbing 9 rebounds as she brought her team back in the 4th quarter to take the lead. Then Chillicothe iced the game away at the free throw line late, as Liz Oliver, Kayanna Cranmer and Bonderer combined to go 8/8 at the free throw line in the final 2 minutes.
The Lady Hornets improve to 13-1 on the season with the 56-49 win over Grain Valley. Chillicothe will be back in action Monday at home against Smithville.
Chillicothe 9 25 35 56
Grain Valley 11 18 36 49
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Bonderer 20, Oliver 16, Cranmer 12, Lyla Beetsma 4, Delanie Kieffer 3, Ava Leamer 1
Grain Valley – Aspen Reed 12, Camryn Kelly 10, Finley LaForge 10, Meghan Knust 9, Addy Seyfert 8
