By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
SPRINGFIELD - Benton came to within single digits of playing for a state championship.
After going toe-to-toe with Boonville the night before, the Cardinals (15-11) had less than 12 hours of turnaround time to get up and get ready for their third place game, which was against No. 1 Vashon.
The Cardinals hung in for 3.5 quarters, but the Wolverines (18-2) used a 16-2 run the final four minutes to beat Benton 57-37 in the Class 4 girls' state third place game at the Hammons Student Center in Springfield Saturday.
Not the end result Benton wanted of course, but first-year head coach Chris Michaels and his team aren't hanging their heads.
"I'm not disappointed in these girls one bit," Michaels said. "When you go against as many challenges and as much adversity as we went through, and everyone dealt with adversity this year, but it's a little bit different in south St. Joseph. We went through some things and to finish the year where we're at right now, I couldn't be more proud."
Vashon got off to a fast 8-1 start, but Benton responded after an early timeout, and trailed 19-14 after the first quarter. The Cardinals continued to fight, and only trailed 26-23 at the break.
Just like in Friday's semifinal, Benton contended with a tight, press defense throughout the game, as Vashon forced 25 turnovers. The Wolverines had only 11 giveaways themselves.
Benton got to within 28-27 with 3:51 to go in the third after a jump shot from sophomore Peyton Anderson, but then got down 41-29 with 6:30 left in the game.
The Cardinals made one last surge, pulling to within 41-35 with 5:02 to go, but after a couple of steals and ensuing three-pointers and fast breaks, Vashon was up 53-37 with 2:28 left.
"When you're down already and their three-pointers hit and you lost a heartbreaker yesterday on a quick turnaround, it's very very hard to turn around again," Michaels said. "Especially in the fourth quarter. We did a good job of staying with each other and not fighting each other and not fighting against the grain. So, we're leaving here a better family than what we were when we showed up."
Benton was also held scoreless for the final 2:48. The Wolverines end up third in their first ever Final Four appearance after absorbing a 78-55 loss to Mount Vernon in their semifinal the night before.
"Vashon isn't ranked No. 1 in the state for nothing," Michaels said. "They had a game (Friday) where they didn't play their best, so they end up in the third place game. We knew it'd be tough. You're in the top four teams down here. So, they didn't make it down here by a fluke."
While the end result wasn't the desired one, Benton has plenty of reason to be optimistic. Heck, when the month of March began, almost nobody expected the Cardinals to make it out of their district bracket, let alone to the Final Four.
"Would we have loved to take home a first place trophy and get to hoop and holler and do everything like that?" Michaels said. "Of course we would. However, to get here wasn't in the cards for us when we started. A month ago, if you'd have asked me, 'Do you think you're going to be (in Springfield?) I would've said yes, but you wouldn't have gotten a lot of yeses from other people."
The Cardinals will bring every player on their current roster back for next season. All except senior Alyssa White, who scored 64 points in her final season and played 29 minutes in her final game.
"Ally White is going to go on and do great things," Michaels said proudly. "She's going to be an awesome citizen. She's going to be the perfect role model and I tell her all the time, 'I have two daughters and I want them to be just like Ally White.'
"She's going to go to college at Arkansas and she's going to graduate probably one of the top in her class. Ally White is about as special as they come. Benton High School wouldn't be Benton High School without Ally White."
Vashon 57 - 19, 7, 11, 20
Benton 37 - 14, 9, 6, 8
Vashon scorers - Raychel Jones - 17, Nariyah Simmons - 11, Marshaun Bostic - 10, Kanitra Barnett - 8, Rayvin Jones - 4, Chrissy Dudley - 3, Azaria Moore - 2, Kiyah Cooper - 2
Benton scorers - Kelsey Johnson - 16, Jaida Cox - 8, Lauren Burright - 6, Kianna Herrera - 5, Peyton Anderson - 2
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.