Massac County blocks Benton from outright championship


Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

METROPOLIS — Defensive scrum may be the best way to describe the battle between the Benton Rangerettes and Massac County Lady Patriots Monday night.

Or maybe a rock fight, as Massac County held on for a 24-20 win.

The top two teams in the SIRR Ohio battled with plenty on the line–Benton would clinch the Ohio title outright with a win. A Massac County win would keep the Lady Patriots’ hopes of sharing the title alive.

Massac County sophomore Sophie Bormann was the difference. Not only did she lead all scorers with 12 points, but she made an enormous defensive play in the fourth quarter. With the Lady Patriots up two, Benton’s Jacey Eubanks came up with a steal and had a clear path to a game-tying layup.

That is until Bormann came flying out of nowhere for a chase down block. On the ensuing possession, Elise Coakley grabbed a Benton miss and fed Bormann for a fast break layup to put the Lady Patriots back up four.

“That was a straight hustle play there,” said Massac County head coach Justin Kindle. “We had just gotten onto the kids pretty hard because we were struggling to rebound the basketball, and that was a flat out hustle, chase down block. That was an effort play there.”

The Lady Patriots’ defense held Rangers’ senior standout Addyson Miller scoreless, after Miller torched them for a school record eight three-pointers and 26 points nine days earlier in a 41-38 Benton win.

“When we were up at Benton on the 27th, Addysn Miller just annihilated us,” Kindle said. “We had a different game plan for them. Our kids bought into it tonight. It was just an overall, collective effort.

Kendra Waldon added 10 points for the Lady Patriots who improve to 8-1 in the Ohio. They can grab a share of the title with a win over Herrin Wednesday night.

The Rangerettes fall to 11-2 overall and finish 9-1 in conference play.