Hamilton Heights dropped a close semi-final game at the Class 3A Bellmont regional on Saturday, as the No. 7 Huskies lost to Benton Central 52-48.
The Bison led 16-12 after the first quarter and 29-23 at halftime. Benton Central then jumped out to a 38-25 lead midway through the third period, but Heights stormed back with an 11-2 run to cut the Bison’s advantage to 40-36 by the end of the quarter. Jillian Osswald scored seven points in the third.
Osswald stepped up again with just over a minute to play, making a 3-pointer to get the Huskies within 50-48. But Benton Central held on to win the game.
“Tough one today,” said Heights coach Keegan Cherry. “I feel really bad for our Senior Captain, Jillian Osswald. I wish there was more we could have done. I’ve said it several times, our girls are fighters. They showed that again today. After falling behind double digits there in the third quarter, we fought our way back and had a chance to win with less than 30 seconds to play. Benton Central’s size and strength was a factor. Their length on both offense and defense caused some problems for us. Credit to Benton Central, they do an excellent job of playing to their strengths with the personnel they have. They really get into you defensively.”
Benton Central fell in the championship game to sixth-ranked Norwell 53-46.
Osswald scored 16 points for the Huskies, with Camryn Runner adding 10 points and MyKayla Moran scoring eight. Both Osswald and Runner had two 3-pointers.
“Today was a great learning experience for the program,” said Cherry. “For those girls that will be back, we challenged them to remember that feeling in the locker room after the game. Use that to fuel their off-season goals – to get better.”
The Huskies finished the season 18-2.
“On behalf of our entire program, we’d like to thank our incredible fans,” said Cherry. “Their support was amazing. It was a great ride. This is a special group. We’ll be back.”
BENTON CENTRAL 52, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 48
Heights FG FT TP PF
Ella Hickok 2 0-0 5 1
Jillian Osswald 5 4-4 16 4
Camryn Runner 4 0-0 10 2
Sydney Runyan 1 1-1 3 2
MyKayla Moran 2 4-6 8 3
Kaylee Rhoton 0 0-0 0 2
Hadleigh Cherry 2 1-2 6 0
Totals 16 10-13 48 14
Score by Quarters
Heights 12 11 13 12 – 48
Benton Central 16 13 11 12 – 52
Heights 3-pointers (6) Osswald 2, Runner 2, Hickok 1, Cherry 1.