The 26-1 Chillicothe Lady Hornets traveled to Kansas City on Friday night to play the 16-10 Notre Dame de Sion Storm in the Class 4 State Quarterfinals. With the winner advancing to the Final Four, Notre Dame de Sion started fast on their own floor.
The Storm forced 7 turnovers in the first quarter and established an 11-6 edge at the end of the first. In the 2nd quarter Jolie Bonderer connected on a three pointer to give Chillicothe their first lead of the game, and the Lady Hornets never looked back. Chillicothe was ahead 19-16 at the break.
Emerging from the halftime break, the Lady Hornets caught fire. Chillicothe scored more points in the 3rd quarter than they did the first two periods combined, but de Sion stayed with 10 points, as Chillicothe led 41-33 going into the 4th.
The Lady Hornets offense kept humming, headlined by Jolie Bonderer and Kayanna Cranmer who each finished with 20 points for Chillicothe. The Lady Hornets defense slowed down de Sion late in the game, holding the Storm to just 5 points in the final frame. Chillicothe pulled away to win decisively 62-38 and now advance to Columbia next Wednesday to play in the Class 4 Final Four. It is just the 3rd time in school history that the Chillicothe girls basketball program will advance to the Final Four, and the first time since 1994.
Chillicothe improves to 27-1 on the season and will play 26-3 Lift for Life Academy at 8 PM on Wednesday at Mizzou Arena. The Lady Hornets who finished 3rd in the state among Class 4 teams in the final poll from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association will be playing the #2 Lady Hawks for a spot in the State Championship.
Chillicothe 6 19 41 62
ND de Sion 11 16 33 38
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Bonderer 20, Cranmer 20, Lyla Beetsma 8, Liz Oliver 8, Delanie Kieffer 6
ND de Sion – Taelyn Smith 14, Abby Wendte 11, Kylenna Potts 6, Emerson Shelton 4, Charlotte Baity 3
