Coach Darren Smith was incredibly proud of his team’s performance on Thursday afternoon in Columbia at Mizzou Arena. Knowing that the Lady Hornets had every excuse in the book, coming off of Wednesday night’s emotionally, physically and mentally draining overtime loss in the Class 4 State Semifinal, Chillicothe did not give in to that mindset. Instead, the senior leaders set the tone, and the Lady Hornets captured the 3rd place trophy in what was the final game for Jolie Bonderer, Kayanna Cranmer, Delanie Kieffer and Emily Schreiner in the Lady Hornets uniform.
Chillicothe was facing the Owensville Dutchgirls who were coming off a 44-30 loss to Central of Park Hills. Chillicothe struggled from the field in the early going, as Owensville led for the majority of the first quarter but the Lady Hornets found their best footing late in the first, to go ahead 10-9. The momentum for Chillicothe continued into the 2nd quarter as the Lady Hornets defense increased their intensity, holding Owensville to just 5 points in the quarter. Chillicothe dominated on the glass in the opening half, out-rebounding their opponent 22 to 9. The Lady Hornets closed the half with 8 unanswered points to go into the locker room with a 25-14 lead.
Chillicothe’s run continued in the opening minutes of the 3rd quarter, extending the margin to 15 points, but that is when the Dutchgirls caught fire. Four triples in the quarter allowed Owensville to close the deficit to just six points entering the 4th quarter. Chillicothe showed impressive determination, grit and resolve while keeping Owensville at bay. Cranmer and Bonderer each scored 5 points in their final quarter of high school basketball to lift Chillicothe to victory. Along with the seniors, junior forward Liz Oliver was excellent all game long. The Dutchgirls had no answer for Oliver underneath, who finished with a game high 21 points and 7 rebounds. Chillicothe capped their historic season with a 50-39 win in the Class 4 3rd place game.
The Lady Hornets season comes to an end with a 28-2 record, which is the best mark in program history. Congratulations to Coach Smith and the Lady Hornets on a tremendous season while bringing the 3rd place trophy home to Chillicothe High School.
Chillicothe 10 25 38 50
Owensville 9 14 32 39
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Oliver 21, J. Bonderer 13, Cranmer 5, Lyla Beetsma 5, Kieffer 3, Lydia Bonderer 3
Owensville – Alison Daniels 17, Camryn Caldwell 12, Emma Daniels 8, Cameron Nowack 2
