By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
One would be hard-pressed to find a team that's had a more up-and-down path to this year's Show Me Showdown in Springfield than the Benton girls.
After having to miss the Basehor-Linwood and Cameron tournaments in late January due to quarantine, Benton (15-9) came back on a mission, reeling off three straight wins, which was capped off by a 50-27 victory at Lafayette on Feb. 9.
The Cardinals then went 2-4 to end February. Losses to great teams like Maryville (22-2), Bishop LeBlond (18-8), Bolivar (14-12) and Macon (25-3).
The Macon loss, in particular, stood out. After having some games wiped out by COVID and winter weather, the Cardinals reached out to the Tigerettes and Benton drove 130 miles east for a tough, regular-season finale on Feb. 25.
Macon won 51-50, but it was something that was said before the game that stuck with Cardinals' first-year head coach Chris Michaels.
"(Macon coach Richard Driscoll) just kind of tells us, 'We're worried about Maryville when we get down to semis.' So, I go in the locker room and I tell the girls, 'They have no idea what you can do. Let's go show them.' And we lose by one."
Benton, who had 11 wins at the time compared to Macon's 23, lost by one point. On the road. The Cardinals came back home, feeling like that game should have been won. More importantly, they came back determined to show everyone else what they're capable of.
"That was kind of the turning point for our season and the point when our girls realized, 'There are a lot of people throughout the state who don't think you can do this,'" Michaels said. "When you look at these girls and say 'you can't do that,' or, 'you can't do something,' they're going to prove you wrong, and they've done a pretty good job of that."
After a 41-26 win over Chillicothe in district quarterfinals, the Cardinals went into the lion's den, or in this case the Hound Pound, facing odds-on favorite Maryville in the district title game.
After losing to Maryville twice before this season alone, Benton flipped the script and stopped the Spoofhounds 45-40.
"When we win these games, especially the Maryville one, it really showed us, and everyone, that maybe doubted us that we can do this," junior Kianna Herrera said. "And, we proved our point."
After beating up Center 47-26 in state sectionals, Benton returned home for a tough challenge in quarterfinals - El Dorado Springs, who rolled into Springer Gymnasium on a 13-game winning streak.
In a game where momentum changed hands several times, Benton once again realized their full potential and came through for a 41-38 overtime win. It marked the first time in school history that Benton punched its ticket to the Final Four while playing at home.
"It was our home court," Herrera said, "and we hadn't had that kind of crowd in forever, and having that crowd definitely helped our game."
Benton has now reached its fifth Final Four in program history, and will take on No. 4 Boonville (25-2) in the Show Me Showdown semifinals on Friday night at 8 p.m. inside JQH Arena.
The Pirates have won 12 straight as they seek their first state title in program history.
Benton seeks its third state championship banner, after former girls' coach turned athletic director Brett Goodwin took first in 2007 (30-0) and again in 2016 (31-0), which was the last time the Cardinals were in the Final Four.
Junior Jaida Cox was in sixth grade.
"As little kids, we've always thought it would happen again some day," Cox said. "Now that it's finally happening, we've got to go do what we can do and show everybody."
A 2009 Benton alum himself, Michaels can fondly recall driving down to Columbia to watch Goodwin's teams compete in the Final Four. Now, Michaels is the one drawing up plays.
"This is special," he said. "I sat in these bleachers, I walked these halls. I drove down and watched Brett win his two (titles). So, to be able to be on the floor this time is going to be really, really special. It's going to be hard to not get caught up in that emotion."
It's always tough, no matter who you are, to not get caught up in the pageantry of state basketball. Only four teams make it to Springfield. It really is a big deal.
Yet, the focus has to be on basketball. You have to bring your absolute best in order to cut down nets. Given Benton's current trend, their confidence level is high.
"If we go in there and play our game (Friday), we will take another win and go to the championship," said Herrera.
A month ago, virtually no one expected Benton to go this far. Entering districts, Michaels challenged his team to "earn one more." One more game. One more practice. One more chance to prove doubters wrong.
Benton earned several more, and will get to play two games in Springfield, whether they win or lose. The motto now shifts away from "earn one more."
"Our motto right now going to the Final Four is 'just enjoy it,'" Michaels said. "We try to add some fun into practice. If we don't, these girls will watch film for the next 46 hours and won't take their eyes off the laptop. They'll be basketball 24/7. So, we'll force them to have some fun."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.