The Chillicothe Lady Hornets basketball team, fresh off the Grain Valley Tournament championship started slow against Smithville Monday night. The Warriors scored the first seven points of the game and had a 12 point lead at the end of the opening quarter as Chillicothe failed to make a field goal. Powered by the a defense that forced Smithville into 22 turnovers and allowed just 20 points in the final 3 quarters of the game, the Lady Hornets slowly but surely came back in the game. Jolie Bonderer, who had scored 20 points in back to back games was held scoreless until the 4th quarter when she hit a 3 pointer in the corner to give Chillicothe their first lead of the game. Big buckets by both Kayanna Cranmer and Liz Oliver, who each scored in double figures, secured the victory for Chillicothe as the Lady Hornets won 41-36.
Chillicothe is 14-1 now on the season after the win against Class 5 #6 Smithville, and will play MEC rival Benton on the road Friday night.
Chillicothe 4 15 22 41
Smithville 16 23 25 36
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Cranmer 15, Oliver 14, Bonderer 7, Delanie Kieffer 2, Lyla Beetsma 2, Ava Leamer 1
Smithville – Peyton Wohlford 12, Kaitlyn Milford 11, Reese Foster 4, Rylee Thompson 4, Kylee Bollinger 2, Silvia Fisher 1
