The Lady Hornets basketball team hosted Lafayette Friday night in a Midland Empire Conference game. On Senior Night, the contest featured a rematch of last years District championship that was won by Chillicothe, as well as a meeting of two teams ranked in the top 10 of the state in Class 4, with 2nd place in the conference of the line.
Chillicothe opened with high intensity, led by senior Liz Oliver who scored the first 8 points of the game for the Lady Hornets, Chillicothe’s defense held Lafayette to just one made field goal in the first quarter and the Lady Hornets were ahead 13-6 through the first. Lafayette’s defense slowed Chillicothe down in the 2nd quarter, holding the Lady Hornets to just 4 points in the frame on a pair of Lyla Beetsma buckets. Chillicothe maintained the advantage into the break 17-14.
Early in the 3rd quarter with Chillicothe leading, Lafayette’s senior guard Tia Nance drove into the paint, and suffered a knee injury that forced her to miss the rest of the game. With their leader and starting point guard on the sidelines, Lafayette rallied around her, going on an 11-0 run from down five to take a 27-21 lead. Lafayette continued with the offensive barrage, scoring 20 points in the 3rd quarter to enter the 4th up 34-24. Chillicothe was never able to stop the momentum of Lafayette behind Rozlyn McDevitt and Emery Oman, who each finished in double figures for the Lady Irish. Lexy Smith began to heat up from distance, connecting on 4 three-pointers, but when Liz Oliver fouled out midway through the 4th quarter Chillicothe was not able to maintain their offensive firepower. Oliver scored a game high 15 points but Lafayette closed out the road victory by a score of 48-40.
Chillicothe drops to 3-2 in the MEC, 3rd in the standings and 16-6 overall. Lafayette moves into 2nd place in the conference at 5-1. The Lady Hornets will play their two final conference games next week along with a road meeting against Kirksville on Monday.
Chillicothe 13 17 24 40
Lafayette 6 14 34 48
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Oliver 15, Smith 12, Beetsma 10, Lydia Bonderer 3
Lafayette – McDevitt 14, Oman 13, Laniya Carriger 8, Katana Bigham 7, Delaney McQuiston 3, Tinsley Davison 3
