Benton roars back in second half to hand Lady Devils first loss of year

By Jim Muir

It was a tale of two halves at Benton’s East Gym Monday night as the Rangerettes rebounded from a 16-point deficit to defeat Sesser-Valier-Waltonville 51-49.

The Lady Devils entered the game with a perfect 10-0 record and lived up to their billing as they blistered the nets in the opening half, shooting 76 percent from the field while coasting to a 37-23 halftime advantage.  S-V-W, who put a pair of 9-0 runs together in the first half, enjoyed its biggest lead of the night late in the second quarter doubling up the Rangerettes 32-16.

The off-the-charts shooting by S-V-W included 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc and coupled by 10 first half turnovers by Benton it appeared the Lady Devils were in command and heading to their 11th win of the season.  But a rejuvenated Benton team took the floor in the third frame and quickly began taking control of the game.

“I didn’t yell at halftime,” said Benton coach Andy Sloan.  “We just talked about playing better defense and taking better care of the basketball.”

Those words sank in for the Rangerettes as they outscored S-V-W 15-7 to cut the deficit to a workable 44-38 heading into a wild and sometimes frantic final quarter.  S-V-W had eight turnovers and went 6:20 seconds without scoring in the quarter as the Rangerettes whittled into the lead.

The comeback was complete for Benton with less than two minutes to play when sophomore Cali Carney hit two free throws to give Benton a 48-47 lead.  The Lady Devils came back and grabbed a 49-48 lead moments later on a layup by Chelsea Miller with only 16 seconds remaining.  Benton took a time out to set up a play and Morgan Corn made a strong move to the basket and scored and was fouled with only 10 seconds remaining to put the Rangerettes up 50-49.  Corn hit the charity toss and a final shot by the Lady Devils to tie the game fell short giving Benton the victory.  Corn turned in a double-double for Benton with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

“This is a nice win for us and I think a confidence-builder,” said Sloan.  “We played well at Marion in the tournament to open the season but has had some ups and downs since.  We are still looking for our identity.”

After trailing 37-23 the Rangerettes outscored S-V-W 28-12 in the second half holding the Lady Devils to three two-point field goals and six free throws.

The win improves Benton to 8-3 overall and is the first of three ‘big’ games for the Rangerettes this week.  Benton travels to Massac County Tuesday night to take on the always-tough Lady Patriots and the returns home on Thursday to close out the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule against a much-improved Harrisburg team.

Along with Corn’s 16 points Benton got eight points from Evelyn Mendez and Sami Minor and six points each from Katie Sandusky, Mikala Carney and Cali Carney.  Rae Lappin led the Lady Devils in scoring with 16 including a pair of 3-pointers.  Chelsea Miller added 11 points followed by Rachel Marlo with seven points, Meagan Eskew with six and Mikala Williams and Cheyenne Pitchford with four each.