By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Benton girls' basketball team (24-5) is headed to the Final Four for the second straight season and the fifth time since 2007 following their 48-35 win over MEC rival St. Pius X Saturday at Blue Springs High School.
The Cardinals have now won 11 straight and will face Helias Catholic (23-7) in state semifinals on Friday afternoon at 4 at JQH Arena in Springfield.
The St. Joseph Central girls, also playing in state quarterfinals at Blue Springs Saturday, fell to No. 6 ranked Blue Springs South 47-37. The Indians end the season with a district championship and a 20-8 record.
Meanwhile, in the Class 2 boys' Final Four, Bishop LeBlond (20-12) comes home fourth following a close 59-57 loss to Putman County in the third place game on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles, back in the Final Four for the first time since 2002, fell in the state semifinal late Friday night to top ranked Norwood, 59-55.
In the Class 1 girls Final Four, Platte Valley is a state champion yet again following a 63-50 win over Delta in Springfield Saturday.
Platte Valley finishes the year at 29-1 after running the table and going 30-0 last year and 28-4 the year before that. Platte Valley has now played in three consecutive state championship games, finishing as runner-up in 2020.
In the Class 1 boys' Final Four, Stanberry punched their ticket to the state title game for the first time since 2016 following a 45-40 overtime win over Wellsville-Middletown in Friday night's semifinal.
The Bulldogs, however, ran into defending Class 1 state champion South Iron in the title game and fell 71-45. The Bulldogs end a great season at 25-4.
South Iron knocked off another local school in Mound City in last year's Class 1 title game, 69-50.