The Chillicothe Lady Hornets basketball team trailed by 6 points in the 4th quarter and by 5 in overtime against Lafayette on Tuesday night, but rallied on both occasions to win their 12th straight game of the season. The matchup pitted the top two teams in the Midland Empire Conference as both the Lady Hornets and Lady Irish entered the game 4-0 in conference play.
Chillicothe started sluggishly as Lafayette began the game up 6-0, but the Lady Hornets grabbed their first lead late in the first quarter. Lafayette held the advantage by 1 point at halftime, and Chillicothe trailed the majority of the 2nd half. Late in the game, Coach Darren Smith had his team turn up the pressure, forcing more turnovers in the 4th quarter than the other 3 quarters combined to allow Chillicothe to come back and score the final 6 points of regulation to tie the score at 42-42.
In overtime, Lyla Beetsma hit a free throw to give Chillicothe a lead, it was one of 15 points on the night. Lafayette responded with 6 straight points to take a 5 point lead. Jolie Bonderer answered with her biggest shot of the game, a three pointer, part of her game high 19. Delanie Kieffer then had the go ahead triple, as Chillicothe never looked back in a 53-48 victory.
Chillicothe moves into sole possession of first place in the MEC at 5-0 and is now 19-1 overall. The Lady Hornets will play Kirksville at home on Thursday night.
Chillicothe 10 22 33 42 53
Lafayette 9 23 35 42 48
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Bonderer 19, Beetsma 15, Kayanna Cranmer 12, Liz Oliver 4, Kieffer 3
Lafayette – Talicia Byrd 14, Tia Nance 12, Laniya Carriger 8, Honor Mannings 7, Delaney McQuiston 3, Emery Omon 2
