Time to get loud: Benton back in state final
By Cody Thorn I Photos by Cheap Seats Photography
SPRINGFIELD — Benton spends each practice playing music as loud as it can get.
Then, Benton head coach Chris Michaels screams as loud as he can to get his players’ attention. Why?
For moments that will happen on Saturday afternoon — a chance to win another state championship.
The No. 10-ranked Cardinals used a late surge in the third quarter to pull away from No. 8-ranked Helias Catholic, picking up a 47-42 win in a Class 4 semifinal game at Hammons Student Center.
A boisterous and vocal coach, Michaels gave insight about his style.
“We're loud because we want them to hear us,” said the second-year coach, who guided the Cardinals to a fourth-place showing last year. “They hear us, we play music in our gym all day long. And at the shoot around (on Thursday) we broke the speaker, but yesterday at Springfield Catholic, the gym is bum[ping and they still hear us. And we do that because we know that we want to be here.”
For the record, the speaker they broke belonged to the team, and it has been replaced. The new speaker will get a test run early Saturday before the Cardinals play in their third championship game in school history. The St. Joseph school is 2-0 in those games, winning in 2007 and 2016.
As for the game, the Cardinals and Crusaders were tied eight times but that changed late in the third. A jumper by Lauren Burright with 25 seconds gave the Cardinals a 27-25 lead and then Avery Morlock scored on a layup at the buzzer.
“I mean, the back-to-back baskets, we just feed off of so much the intensity in the gym,” Benton junior guard Peyton Anderson said. “Obviously, our parents are going crazy when we get back to that basket. It just really helps us out.”
The late run turned into an 8-point lead following jumpers by Kelsey Johnson and Olivia Walters in the fourth quarter.
Helias (21-8) pulled within a possession in the final minute after Claire Manns hit one of two free throws with 56 seconds left.
Jaida Cox converted on a three-point play that essentially iced the win for the Cardinals, who will try to win their third state title in school history on Saturday afternoon against John Burroughs.
Burright, a senior center, led Benton with 12 points – almost double her season average. Johnson added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Benton shut down the Crusaders’ top scorer, Adalynn Koelling. The 6-foot-1 Missouri State commit had nine points – four below her average – and seven rebounds. Gabrielle Bax scored 11 points off the bench for Helias.
This was the second meeting between the two teams, each winning one. The Crusaders won 41-39 on Dec. 27.
John Burroughs 51, St. James 37
The Bombers held the Tigers to 10 or less points in the first three quarters to set the stage for a win in the first Class 4 semifinal on Friday at Hammons Student Center.
The No. 3-ranked Bombers raced out to a 14-0 lead against St. James (25-6) in the first quarter that featured five different players scoring.
The Tigers had a 9-0 run between the late first and early second to pull within five but sophomore guard Allie Turner hit her second 3-pointer to give John Burroughs (21-4) a little more breathing room midway through the second quarter.
The Bombers were up 24-13 at halftime and used a 6-0 run to take their largest lead so far. Going into the fourth, Burroughs held a 20-point lead – on the way to a 16th straight win.
John Burroughs will be making its third trip to the finals but lost the previous two – 2000 and 2003.
Turner scored a game-high 15 points, while sophomore forward Monet Witherspoon chipped in with 14.
St. James, ranked No. 7, had two in double figures as well. Sophomore forward Kendall Costoplos had 12 and senior forward Alyson Bullock scored 11.
Benton 47, Helias Catholic 42
John Burroughs 51, St. James 37
