The Chillicothe Lady Hornets traveled to Benton on Friday for an MEC contest featuring two top 10 teams in Class 4 in the state. Last season the Lady Cardinals won the MEC and made a run to the final four, two years ago, the Lady Hornets accomplished the same feats, setting up a big time regular season showdown.
Chillicothe was unable to match Benton’s intensity early as the Cardinals raced out to a 7-0 start. Benton was unstoppable early, headlined by senior point guard Eliana Arambula. The Nebraska Kearney commit, scored 12 first quarter points and 21 in the first half, piloting her team to a major advantage. Arambula knocked in three first half triples and the entire Benton roster was on fire from the perimeter, hitting six first quarter threes as a team. Benton jumped on Chillicothe early, holding a 28-5 lead going into the 2nd quarter.
Chillicothe attempted to stay close behind senior Lyla Beetsma who had 8 points in the 2nd quarter, and a team high 10 for the game, but Benton put the pressure on the Lady Hornets forcing 10 first half turnovers and extended the margin out to 45-13 at half.
Benton continued to showcase their abilities throughout the game, pulling away for a resounding 74-26 win. It was the largest loss for Chillicothe under Coach Darren Smith in twelve seasons as head coach.
The Lady Hornets are now 17-3 on the season and 1-1 in the MEC. Chillicothe will host Westran on Wednesday.
Chillicothe 5 13 20 26
Benton 28 45 61 74
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Beetsma 10, Lydia Bonderer 9, Emerson Staton 4, Lexy Smith 3
Benton – Arambula 23, Klarabelle Turner 12, Jenna Cox 11, Mikayla Grayson 11, Jalynn Brown 8, Jerzey Ziolkowski 6, Miah Gemmell 3