The Chillicothe Lady Hornets basketball team continued their strong start to the season on Tuesday night taking on the Maryville Spoofhounds in the Savannah Tournament. A win in the contest would clinch a spot in the tournament championship game Friday night and that is just what Coach Darren Smith and his team intended to do.
The Lady Hornets struggled offensively to start. Trailing 4-0 midway through the opening quarter, senior Liz Oliver energized the team with 5 straight points to take the early lead and that was just the start of a big day for Oliver. The Lady Hornets held a tepid 11-8 advantage at the end of the first, but that ballooned out to a 15 point margin at halftime. Chillicothe’s half-court defense was tremendous as Maryville scored the majority of their points in transition yet still only managed 14 total at the break.
The 2nd half was more of the same for the Lady Hornets, who relied on their experienced players in Oliver and Lyla Beetsma to lead the way. Oliver finished with a season high 21 as did Beetsma, scoring 14. Chillicothe kept Maryville at bay throughout the 2nd half never allowing the game to get within single digits, resulting in a 56-39 win.
Chillicothe improved to 3-0 on the season and will play Friday night for the Savannah Tournament championship, looking to win the title for the 2nd consecutive season. The Lady Hornets will play either South Harrison, Lincoln Prep or the host Savannah on Friday night.
Chillicothe 11 29 45 56
Maryville 8 14 25 39
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Oliver 21, Beetsma 14, Emerson Staton 8, Lexy Smith 6, Ava Leamer 4, Lydia Bonderer 3
Maryville – Claire Walter 16, Jalea Price 9, Brylee Acklin 4, Alyssa Cunningham 4, Payton Kurz 4, Kora Grow 2
