By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
SPRINGFIELD - The Benton girls' basketball team (15-10) played Boonville (26-2) down to the wire, but 33 turnovers proved costly for the Cardinals in a 48-44 loss to the Pirates in the Class 4 state semifinals at JQH Arena in Springfield Friday night.
In a game that featured seven ties and 13 lead changes, Benton overcame a seven-point, halftime deficit and grabbed a 40-38 lead with 3:01 to play after a clutch three-pointer from sophomore Kelsey Johnson.
Offensively, Benton was better in the second half. After making only 5-of-20 shots in the first half, the Cardinals shot 11-of-20 in the final 16 minutes, and outscored the Pirates 18-9 in the third quarter.
Benton also held Boonville to just 31.4 percent shooting in the entire game.
"We just slowed down and did what we do," Benton coach Chris Michaels said of his team's effort in the second half. "We let (Boonville) dictate the whole first half. We told our girls (at halftime), 'The fact that they are dictating you right now and deciding what you do is not how we play basketball.'"
On the flipside, the Pirates' full-court press and tight, on-ball defense made life difficult for the Cardinals throughout. The intense pressure on defense allowed Boonville to grab 18 steals.
"We held them to 21 points in the first half, so defensively, I thought we played a good game," Michaels said. "I just don't think we handled their pressure very well."
With the game still airtight, Benton junior Lauren Burright tied it at 42-42 on a layup with 1:58 left, but Boonville junior Addison Brownfield gave the Pirates the lead back at 44-42 after a jumper of her own with 54 seconds remaining.
At that point, Benton brought the ball up the floor with plenty of time left, down two and still had a timeout in their back pocket. But with 35 seconds to go, Burright had the ball stolen underneath by Boonville's Kennedy Renfrow.
Johnson then fouled Boonville's Kourtney Kendrick with 24 seconds to go. That foul put the Pirates in the double-bonus. Kendrick went 1-for-2 at the line, putting the Pirates ahead 45-42 with still 24 seconds left.
Still with a solid chance to send it overtime, Johnson brought the ball up the floor for Benton, but Brownfield swiped it away on a tipped pass with 11 seconds left. Brownfield was swiftly fouled and sunk both free throws, putting the game out of reach at 47-42 with 11 seconds remaining.
Benton's Kianna Herrera, who led her team with 18 points, was able to get a final layup with about three seconds left. The Cardinals called timeout, and with 1.7 remaining, Brownfield was fouled again and made one more free throw to put the final tally at 48-44.
A tough end to a tough game, as Benton's bid for a third state title in girls' basketball came to an end and the team suffered its first loss in the month of March.
But, the season is not yet over. Playing in only the program's fifth Final Four, the Cardinals have a chance to take third at state Saturday for the first time since 1991. They have a chance to end this remarkable run the right way.
"That's a really, really good team," Michaels said of Boonville. "We're one of the top four teams, so we knew we were going to see a team that was going to be tough and pressure us a lot. We didn't handle the pressure very well. So, we're going to have to forget about this one and go to the next one tomorrow."
Benton will face Vashon (17-2) for third place on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the John Q. Hammons Student Center. Vashon lost in their semifinal to Mount Vernon Friday, 78-55.
"It's a quick turnaround," Michaels said, as his team will have had less than 12 hours to prepare. "It's a quick turnaround for (Vashon), too, so, there's no excuses about a quick turnaround right now."
Boonville 48 - 12, 9, 9, 18
Benton 44 - 10, 4, 18, 12
Boonville scorers - Jodie Bass - 18, Addison Brownfield - 15, Kourtney Kendrick - 5, Kennedy Renfrow - 5, Emma West - 4, Brooke Eichelberger - 1.
Benton scorers - Kianna Herrera - 18, Lauren Burright - 8, Jaida Cox - 8, Kelsey Johnson - 5, Peyton Anderson - 3, Alyssa White - 2.
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