The Chillicothe Lady Hornets basketball team hosted the Knob Noster Panthers on Wednesday night. It was the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Chillicothe began the game by forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. Lexy Smith provided an early spark for the Lady Hornets with 7 first quarter points and Chillicothe was ahead 20-13 after one quarter. Lyla Beetsma found space against the Lady Panthers zone defense, slashing to the hoop and scoring 13 first half points, and 20 for the game helping Chillicothe hit the locker room up 34-22.
Emerson Staton and Lydia Bonderer both had big games, scoring season highs. Bonderer finished with 14, including a pair of triples, while Staton dominated down low contributing 12. Chillicothe was leading 50-33 going into the 4th, but Knob Noster kept fighting. Sophomore Ella Goodrich provided 20 points for the Lady Panthers, but Chillicothe prevented any comeback attempt, winning 57-43.
The Lady Hornets improve to 5-0 on the season, following their closest margin of victory so far this season. Chillicothe will host Trenton on Friday night with tip-off at 6 PM.
Chillicothe 20 34 50 57
Knob Noster 13 22 33 43
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Beetsma 20, Bonderer 14, Staton 12, Smith 8, Ava Leamer 3
Knob Noster – Goodrich 20, Danika Yates 12, Tinlee Jones 5, Jenna Buzzanga 3, Jaiden Meyer 3