By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
CHILLICOTHE - The Benton girls' basketball team withstood an early fight from Chillicothe, and pulled away down the stretch for a big, 56-43 win at Chillicothe on Friday night.
The Cardinals (16-3) won their fourth straight game and secured their second win over the Hornets this season. Benton, ranked No. 3 in Class 4, now controls their own destiny in the Class 4 District 16 standings.
"It was super fun," sophomore Andrea Simmons said after. "I'm really excited to see (Chillicothe) again in districts."
The first quarter was a low-scoring, back and forth affair, with both teams turning each other over a handful of times. Chillicothe (15-4) used a 7-0 run in the first quarter to grab an early 11-7 lead.
That didn't last long, as back-to-back three-pointers from senior and Missouri Western signee Kelsey Johnson helped give the Cardinals a 15-11 lead entering the second quarter.
Benton ended up leading 20-11 after a 13-0 run prompted a Chillicothe timeout early in the second. The Hornets were held to just five second quarter points and the Cardinals led 26-16 at the break.
"I feel like our offense was sparked, because defensively, we sat down and defended," Benton coach Chris Michaels said. "Even when (Chillicothe) went on runs, we kept them to shorter runs than what it has been."
Chillicothe came out with energy in the third quarter. The Hornets got the ball to start the second half and cut the lead to 26-21. A three-pointer by Benton's Andrea Simmons, however, immediately pushed the lead back to eight points.
Chilli got back to within two possessions a couple more times in the third, but Benton still managed to lead 38-28 at the start of the fourth.
Both teams got into the one-and-one bonus fairly early in the fourth, and it was Benton that took advantage. The Cardinals made 10 out of 13 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter alone. Benton was 15-of-20 at the line on the night. Chillicothe, meanwhile, was 13-of-18.
"One of our goals is always to make more free throws than the other team attempts," Michaels pointed out. "That's a big deal for us. We remind our girls of that very much throughout the game. Finishing is the bigger part. You can get to the line, but not making them would not help us. So, making them when you get there."
Benton led by as many as 16 with 2:34 to play, and the game was never in doubt after that. Simmons led the Cardinals with 14 points. Johnson and Peyton Anderson each scored 12.
"It was really good for us to settle down and focus on our shot," Simmons said. "It's what we've been working on in practice and free throws are really important."
Senior Avery Morlock had nine points, while freshman Eliana Arambula had seven. Kayanna Cranmer led Chillicothe with 15. Lyla Beetsma finished with 10. The Cardinals unofficially forced 17 Chillicothe turnovers.
Benton snapped what was an eight-game winning streak for Chillicothe. The Cardinals, who have now won six of their last seven, have just six games left in the regular season - a road game at Lafayette Tuesday and then a string of five consecutive home games starting with Maryville on Feb. 10.
The final stretch before Benton starts the postseason with a trip to what would be the third straight Final Four in mind.
"There's nine girls (on our team) who have been to a Final Four," Michaels said, "seven of them have played in the Final Four and five of them who played in two. You don't get experience like that just walking into practice gyms. So, no matter what happens, we keep reminding them that 'no matter what you see on the floor, you've been in worse.'"
Boys FINAL Friday: Benton 52 Chillicothe 39
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.