The Chillicothe Lady Hornets met Bishop LeBlond on Friday night for the first MEC game of the year. Entering at 9-1, it was also the first home game of the season for Chillicothe.
The Lady Hornets wasted no time early taking control of the game. Chillicothe’s pressure forced 10 first quarter turnovers on LeBlond, and 28 for the game. The Lady Hornets turned those extra possessions into points, going ahead 19-4 at the end of the first quarter. Chillicothe pushed that advantage out to 35-12 at half behind a strong performance from the leading scorer on the season, Lyla Beetsma, who had 13 before halftime and a game high 17.
In the 2nd half, the visiting Golden Eagles made a run, cutting the deficit to 17 at 37-20. Following a timeout from Coach Darren Smith, the Lady Hornets turned their “A game” back on, going on an extended 27-4 run to lock the victory up. Sophomore point guard Lexy Smith had an impressive outing with 16 points and 5 assists, including a trio of three pointers in the 64-26 win.
The Lady Hornets improve to 10-1 and open up 1-0 in the MEC. Chillicothe will be back in action on Monday at Lathrop.
Chillicothe 19 35 46 64
LeBlond 4 12 22 26
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Beetsma 17, Smith 6, Lydia Bonderer 7, Maicee Albrecht 6, Emerson Staton 6, Ava Leamer 6, Mya Oliver 2, Isabel Nagel 2, Maddie Robinson 2
LeBlond – Rilyn Conard 9, Ella Frazee 4, Gracie Wolf 4, Grace Giles 3, Kendall Cathcart 2, Marah Rocha 2, Katelyn Richter 2