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Hagood drops 31, Doniphan wins Missouri girls Class 4 basketball state championship; scoring, updates, recap

Doniphan survives late scare, beats Benton to win MSHSAA Class 4 Show-Me Showdown at Mizzou Arena

Levi Payton

Benton takes on Doniphan at 8 p.m. Saturday for the MSHSAA Class 4 state championship in the Show-Me Showdown at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Benton takes on Doniphan at 8 p.m. Saturday for the MSHSAA Class 4 state championship in the Show-Me Showdown at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

For the first time in school history, Benton’s boys and girls will both take the floor to play for state championships on the same day. While the boys have a tough matchup against Vashon, the girls have the nightcap on Saturday against Doniphan in the Class 4 Show-Me Showdown at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Benton (25-6) is making its third trip to the state finals in the last four years. The Lady Cardinals took second in 2021-2022 and again in 2022-2023. They also took fourth at state in 2020-2021.

The Lady Cardinals’ last state title happened on the heels of their perfect 32-0 campaign in 2015-2016. They enter today’s game averaging 67.6 points on offense. They have sacrificed a little defense in the process, going from a squad that routinely held opposing offenses in the 30s in past years to allowing 47.9 points per game this year – which are still solid numbers.

Their only losses this season came against the state’s top teams. They dropped two close games, including one in overtime, to St. Teresa’s Academy, who plays for the Class 5 championship today at 4 p.m. They also lost to Tipton, who already took third in Class 2, dropped another to Smithville, who went 20-8 in Class 5 this year, and lost single games to Park Hill South and Staley. Those last two are notable because Park Hill South was 28-0 in Class 6 before Staley knocked them off. Staley then went on to finish second in Class 6 earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the Donettes from Doniphan are seeking their first state championship in only their second finals appearance – which is a bit hard to believe considering their recent success.

Since the 2018-2019 season they’ve won at least 20 games every season while never losing more than eight. In the last seven seasons they’ve combined to go 166-31, including a 25-1 record last season and a 26-3 campaign the year before that.

Despite the early playoff setbacks of previous years, the Donettes zig-zagged across the state from Aurora to West Plains to Columbia, picking up wins by the bushel before finally breaking through in the playoffs this season.

They got things started with a District 1 championship over Fredericktown – their fourth in six years – and then beat Park Hills Central 42-27 in sectionals. They survived a 51-49 scare against St. James in the quarterfinal round before downing MICDS 55-47 in their semifinal on Friday.

This could be a low-scoring affair, as Doniphan’s defense has been even better than Benton’s this year. The Donettes have held opposing offenses to just 34.7 points this season while scoring 60.6 on offense. They held 11 opponents under 30 points this year, including three under 20. They held Twin Rivers, who finished 20-8 this season, to just 10 points on Feb. 10.

Bookmark this page and check back often as High School on SI will post expanding live updates and scoring in the space below once the game begins.

Doniphan vs. Benton: MSHSAA Class 4 girls championship; scoring, live updates

Starting lineups

Benton: Jerzey Ziolkowski, Eliana Arambula, Jalynn Brown, Emma Loehnig, Andrea Simmons

Doniphan: Ellie White, Makenna Kirby, Carsyn Hagood, Madilyn Redus, Sarah Owen

FIRST QUARTER

Doniphan opens the scoring on a basket by Hagood and it's 2-0.

Loehnig makes a basket and Arambula drains a 3-pointer with 6:17 left in the first and Benton has its first points, and first lead, 5-2.

Turner makes a 3-pointer for Benton and Doniphan calls timeout with 4:30 left and it's 6-2. Timeout, Doniphan.

Hagood gets two free throws and cuts the deficit in half. It's 8-4 with 3:06 left in the first. She adds a layup with 2:30 left and it's 8-6.

A 3-pointer by Simmons gives Benton a 15-10 cushion with 1:03 left in the first.

End 1: Benton 15, Doniphan 10

SECOND QUARTER

Just 14 seconds into the second quarter, Hagood makes a 3-pointer to cut it to 15-13.

Two free throws by Hagood with 4:46 left in the half gives Doniphan a 16-15 lead.

Tara Davis gets her first points, a 3-pointer, and Doniphan extends its lead to 20-15. Simmons answers with a trey for Benton to make it 20-18.

Doniphan goes on a 13-3 run and leads 23-18 with 1:58 left in the half.

Arambula sinks a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie it.

Halftime: Doniphan 27, Benton 27

THIRD QUARTER

Redus scores two quick layups to start the second half. Benton gets one of them back and it's 31-29.

Two 3-pointers and a layup by Hagood has Doniphan up 43-36 with 1:15 left in the third quarter. She's doing it all and now has 27 points.

End 3: Doniphan 48, Benton 38

FOURTH QUARTER

Jenna Cox makes a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 52-44 with five minutes letter.

After a basket by Doniphan, Simmons drains a trey for Benton with 4:03 left and cuts the deficit to 54-47. Timeout Benton with 4:01 left.

Arambula scores to cut it to five points, 54-49 with 3:11 left.

Doniphan gets a free throw, but Arambula hits two foul shots for Benton and closes it to 55-51 with 2:11 left in regulation.

Hagood makes two free throws with 2:08 to go and extends Doniphan's lead to 57-51. She now has 30 points and seven rebounds.

Killian and Hagood each make one of two free throws and it's 59-51 with 60 seconds to go.

Simmons scores and is fouled on the play. She makes the free throw to complete the three-point play and it's 60-54 with 50 seconds left.

Arambula makes to free throws after Doniphan gets one. It's 61-56 with 34 seconds left.

Turner nails a huge 3-pointer for Benton with 13 seconds left to make it 61-59. Timeout, Benton.

Off the timeout, White scores for Doniphan and that seals the win. The Donettes win the state championship, 63-59.

Final: Doniphan 63, Benton 59

Recap

Benton had no answer for Doniphan’s Carsyn Hagood, who led all scorers with 31 points and eight rebounds in a monster performance. She made 7 of 13 shots from the field and hit three 3-pointers.

Sarah Owen contributed nine points in the win, while Madilyn Redus had eight, Ellie White seven, Kensey Killian five and Tara Davis three.

Andrea Simmons led the way for Benton. She had 18 points and Elian Arambula chipped in 12. Klarabe Turner and Emma Loehnig had eight points each for the runners-up, while Jenna Cox had seven, Jalynn Brown three, Jerzey Ziolkowski two and Mikayla Grayson one

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

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