Lafayette girls basketball falls in Class 4 District 16 Tournament Championship
By Calvin Silvers
The state of Missouri is still in the thick of the high school basketball postseason as teams continue to keep their seasons alive in win or go home games, and that rings true for the city of St. Joseph. On Thursday, the town was gifted an all-time classic between Benton and Lafayette boys, and on Friday it was the girls of Lafayette who tried to capture a district championship.
In a championship contest between the one-seeded Chillicothe Hornets and the two-seeded Lafayette Fighting Irish in the Class 4 District 16 Tournament, the Hornets capitalized on Lafayette’s shooting slump in the second half for the 51-37 victory.
“Still proud of what we were able to accomplish this year and the senior girls, it just meant everything to me to be able to come in here and help them get a nice season, you know, to go out on,” Lafayette head coach Ryan Madison said. “As they were here when it wasn’t great, and then they got to leave pretty good again.”
The contest began with Chillicothe putting an early two points on the scoreboard, before Lafayette’s Honor Mannings came up with the turnover and went the length of the floor for a lay-up. Chillicothe showcased their defensive prowess next Lafayette possession, as Hornet’s Kayanna Cranmer came up with a steal and Lyla Beetsma finished on the other end.
These two teams continued to trade baskets throughout the quarter, as there were four ties in the first eight minutes. After ending the quarter in a 9-9 tie, the scoring was still held to a minimum, as the two teams combined for 22 points the entire quarter.
While each team went into the locker room tied at 20, there were a handful of ties and lead changes. Lafayette’s Destiny McDonald was a force off the bench, while Tia Nance and Emery Omon were holding it down as starters.
“So thrilled for them, those kids bought in and listened, did what I asked and then everybody just followed suit,” Madison said. “I was just thrilled with that. It’s a great group of kids to coach and enjoyable.”
The second half is where Chillicothe began to force their dominance, and it started with Beetsma finishing at the rim despite a foul from Lafayette. With their foot on the gas, Chillicothe was able to build a 28-23 lead, forcing a Lafayette timeout as the Hornets held the largest lead from either team in the contest.
As the third quarter ended, the Irish were down by eight points, and the lead would only grow for Chillicothe as they punched their ticket to sectionals. For Lafayette, Omon finished with 10 points. Mannings tallied eight and Nance with six.
“It’s a great group of girls, and, like I said the other day, they made me love this game again and just kind of reinvigorated me, and I’m so happy for them,” Madison said.
