Dave Riggert – Page 790 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Chiefs sign LB Frank Zombo & DT Vance Walker

Posted on March 14, 2014March 14, 2014

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Friday that the club has signed linebacker Frank Zombo and defensive tackle Vance Walker.

“We’re pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with both Frank and Vance,” Chiefs General Manager John Dorsey said. “Frank was a key member of our defense and special teams units last season, and we are looking forward to having him back. Vance is a big, physical player that we believe can come in and contribute for us up front.”

Zombo (6-3, 254) has played in 41 games (14 starts) in four NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs (2013) and Green Bay Packers (2010-12). His career numbers include 76 tackles (58 solo), 7.0 sacks (-56.0 yards), one interception and three forced fumbles. Zombo played in all 16 games (five starts) for the Chiefs in 2013, tallying 23 total tackles (19 solo), 2.0 sacks (-15.0 yards), one interception and one forced fumble.

The Sterling Heights, Mich., native, originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Packers in April of 2010. He played collegiately at Central Michigan where he was an All-MAC first-team linebacker ranking second in school history with 25.5 career sacks. He prepped at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights, Mich.

Walker (6-2, 305) has played in 73 games (26 starts) in five NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders (2013) and Atlanta Falcons (2009-12). His career numbers include 119 tackles (82 solo), 8.0 sacks (-43.0 yards), 19 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Walker has seen action in four postseason contests, including two starts. He originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft selection (210th overall) of the Atlanta Falcons in the 2009 NFL Draft.

The Fort Mill, S.C., native, played four years at Georgia Tech, seeing action in 49 games (29 starts) where he racked up 110 tackles and 13.0 sacks. Walker prepped at Fort Mill High School.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Nebraska blows 18-point second half lead and falls to No. 24 Ohio State

Posted on March 14, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — After watching his team turn the ball over nine times and fall behind by three points at halftime, Ohio State coach Thad Matta had some choice words for the No. 24 Buckeyes.

“I told our guys at halftime, I said, ‘Look, with the nine turnovers we had, why don’t we just go out and give them the ball nine times and let them try to score,'” Matta said. “And they took me literally, so we were down 18 points.”

The fifth-seeded Buckeyes (25-8) found themselves in a deep hole, but rallied to beat fourth-seeded Nebraska 71-67 on Friday in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

Ohio State led for almost the entire first half, but the Cornhuskers (19-12) stuck around. Playing after a first-round bye for the first time since joining the Big Ten in 2012, Nebraska finally took its first lead on Shavon Shields’ layup with 48 seconds to play in the first half.

That put Nebraska in front 29-28 and, after a missed 3-pointer by LaQuinton Ross, Ray Gallegos hit a jumper at the other end to send Nebraska into halftime with a 31-28 lead.

Nebraska scored the first five points of the second half to build a 36-28 lead, prompting an Ohio State timeout.

The Buckeyes’ struggles at the free-throw line in the first 2 minutes of the second half didn’t help their cause. Amir Williams and Sam Thompson were both 0 for 2 in that stretch.

“We opened up the second half and we had three fouls in two minutes and ten seconds, and we missed four straight free throws,” Matta said. “You know, Aaron (Craft) missed a layup, Trey (McDonald) missed an attempt to dunk, and it was like, my gosh.”

Ross hit a jumper to make it 36-30, but a 12-0 Nebraska run gave the Cornhuskers an 18-point lead with 13:45 to play.

Ross was called for a technical foul for shoving during that run.

“He said he got hit in the face on the drive. We’re working with him on that,” Matta said.

That’s when the Buckeyes kicked it in.

“I think we played with more energy when we saw we were down 18, and we started picking up our full court (pressure),” Amedeo Della Valle said.

Ross and Della Valle scored the game’s next nine points to cut Nebraska’s lead in half, to 48-39.

After turning the ball over just three times in the first half, Nebraska had eight turnovers in the second half.

“They were turning us over, speeding us up, getting us out of operating areas,” Shields said. “We weren’t executing on offense, weren’t making plays on defense, giving up offensive boards. We just kind of fell apart, which is really embarrassing on our part and unacceptable.”

“Unfortunately, I thought we beat ourselves,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “You have to credit Ohio State with their pressure late. In the last 13 minutes they really did an excellent job of getting us rattled.”

Both teams reached the double bonus with 9:36 to play and the score 54-44 Nebraska. Ohio State closed to 58-56 on a Thompson dunk with 4:42 to play.

Pitchford hit a 3-pointer to put Nebraska ahead 61-56. But after two free throws by Aaron Craft and two free throws by Shields, Della Valle hit a 3-pointer with 2:47 to play to pull Ohio State back within 63-61. Petteway fouled Ross on a dunk attempt, and Ross hit both free throws to tie the game at 63 with 1:52 to play.

Nebraska couldn’t get a good look at the other end, then Petteway fouled out while defending Ross. His two free throws put Ohio State ahead 65-63.

Ross finished with career-highs in points (26) and rebounds (13) to lead Ohio State into a semifinal matchup Saturday with top-seeded and eighth-ranked Michigan. The Wolverines defeated No. 9 seed Illinois 64-63 in Friday’s first quarterfinal. Della Valle added 12 points for the Buckeyes.

Petteway led Nebraska with 20 points. Pitchford scored 15 and Shields added 12 points as the Cornhuskers fell to 1-3 in the Big Ten tournament.

“At the end of the day, when you have a lead like that, you should be able to hold it, keep it and find a way to win, but unfortunately we weren’t able to,” Miles said. “Credit them, but at the end of the day, I’m going to put this one on us and me and not finding a better way to attack their pressure.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State softball sweeps Southwest Baptist Friday

Posted on March 14, 2014March 14, 2014

The Northwest Missouri State softball team swept Southwest Baptist Friday in a double header, as they took game one, 2-0, and game two, 3-2, in nine innings.

Abbie Vitosh was in the circle for Northwest in game one and was able to silence the SBU bats from the beginning.

With Vitosh settling in for the long hull, the Northwest offense only needed a couple of runs to secure the victory.

Baylee Scarbrough ended the 0-0 tie in the top of the fourth inning with her second home run of the season, a solo shot that put her team up 1-0.

Northwest was able to add an insurance run in the top of the sixth when Chantel Adams scored on an error.

The two runs were more than enough for Vitosh, who went the distance for the complete game victory. The junior gave up only four hits and three walks, while striking out six on her way to her second win of the season.

Northwest took the lead in inning three of game two off the bat of Steph Mark who hit a two run home run to put her team up 2-0.

SBU answered back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the third inning, and tied the game up at 2-2 with a run in the fifth.

The game headed into extra innings and in the top of the ninth, Maddie Jones put her team up 3-2 with her first home run of the season.

Sarah Baldwin shut down SBU in the ninth inning one, two, three to claim the 3-2 extra inning victory. Baldwin earned the baseball version of a complete game going all nine innings as she gave up five hits, two walks and struck out nine on her way to her fourth win of 2014.

Northwest moves to 6-11, 3-5 on the season and will continue conference play Saturday as they take on Central Missouri for a double header in Warrensburg, Mo. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Mizzou outlasts A&M in double OT to win SEC Tournament opener

Posted on March 13, 2014

ATLANTA (AP) — Missouri had to advance in the Southeastern Conference tournament to have any hope of landing an NCAA bid.

Now, the Tigers will get a chance to really pad their resume.

Jabari Brown scored 26 points, Earnest Ross added 24 and Missouri held off Texas A&M 91-83 in double overtime Thursday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Next up: top-ranked Florida in the quarterfinals Friday.

“This is a good chance to showcase what we do,” Ross said. “We want to leave it all on the court.”

The Tigers (22-10) had quite a tussle against Texas A&M. The Aggies (17-15) rallied from nine points down in the second half and forced another extra period when little-used senior Blake McDonald made a steal under the basket and flipped to Alex Caruso for the tying layup with 8 seconds remaining in the first OT.

“We knew they weren’t going to roll over,” Brown said. “We knew we had to play hard for 40 minutes, and actually it took 50.”

Missouri twice failed to get off a shot with chances to win the game in the closing seconds. It didn’t matter. The Tigers finally wore down the Aggies, who had lost at Missouri 57-56 just eight days earlier.

Brown and fellow guard Jordan Clarkson both fouled out, but Johnathan Williams had four points and two of his game-high 15 rebounds in the second OT. Shane Rector, who didn’t play at all through the first 45 minutes, contributed three points and two rebounds.

Caruso led Texas A&M with 28 points, hitting 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Jamal Jones chipped in with 20 points.

Missouri dominated on the inside, outrebounding the Aggies 48-28 and going a staggering 40 of 53 at the foul line. That’s where Brown did much of his damage, drawing fouls and knocking down 14 of 18. Ross connected on 9 of 10 free throws.

Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy was disturbed by the disparity in free throws, noting that his team went 20 of 28.

“They shot 53 free throws,” he said. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s too many free throws.”

After being down much of the game, Texas A&M surged ahead 68-64 with 1:52 remaining in regulation on yet another 3-pointer from Caruso.

But Missouri tied it up with four straight free throws, sandwiched around a missed 3 by Antwan Space.

Both teams squandered chances to win it in regulation. The Aggies’ Kourtney Roberson missed a turnaround jumper with 15 seconds remaining. Missouri grabbed the rebound and called a timeout to set up a potential final play.

Clarkson dribbled up court slowly, then spun into the lane and tried to dump off a pass. Texas A&M broke it up, and the horn sounded as the teams scrambled for the loose ball, leaving the score tied at 68.

As was the case most of the day, Missouri appeared to have things under control in the first overtime, leading 77-73 after Clarkson sank a pair of free throws with 21.5 seconds remaining.

Caruso missed for the Aggies, but Roberson snatched the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws with 11.7 seconds left. McDonald, who had played only 2 minutes in the game to that point, came off the bench and made an immediate impact.

After Missouri inbounded and tried an ill-advised pass under its own basket, McDonald swooped in to make the steal, flipped it to Caruso while falling out of bounds, and watched his teammate drop in the tying shot.

Again, Missouri had a chance to win it. Again, the Tigers failed to get up a shot. Clarkson lost control under the basket and the horn sounded during another scramble.

Missouri started the season 12-1 in non-conference play but struggled once it got into the SEC part of its schedule. The Tigers went 9-9 in the league, a team once ranked in the Top 25 squarely on the NCAA bubble heading into the Georgia Dome. They are still alive, moving on to face the mighty Gators, who beat Missouri 68-58 on Feb. 4.

“We’re the only team in the country that has this opportunity,” Missouri coach Frank Haith said. “We’ve got to look forward to it.”

Texas A&M’s only hope of making the NCAAs was an improbable run to the championship in Atlanta.

It ended after one game and two overtimes.

“We should have closed the game out,” Jones said. “We had the guys. We had the energy. We just fell a little short.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest’s Cooper named First Team All-Central Region

Posted on March 13, 2014March 13, 2014

Northwest Missouri State senior guard DeShaun Cooper was named to the Daktronics Men’s Basketball Central Region First Team on Thursday in a release from the organization. Cooper is now eligible to receive All-America honors in a voting process that begins next week.

Cooper was the 2013-14 MIAA Player of the Year and a first team all conference performer. He led the Bearcats to a share of the regular season title, leading the team in scoring at 16.7 points per game. He is one of just five players in program history to surpass 1,600 career points and is second all-time with 476 career assists.

Northwest will play Winona State at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 15 in Mankato, Minn. There will be a pregame event prior to Saturday’s game at Jake’s Stadium Pizza (330 Stadium Rd., Mankato, MN) starting at 4 p.m. for Bearcat fans making the trip.

Zach Monaghan – MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO (Central Region Player of the Year)
Josh Gibbs – UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Assem Marei – MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO
DeShaun Cooper – NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
Craig Nicholson – FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY

— Northwest Sports Information —

Wiggins helps Kansas survive Oklahoma State’s upset bid in OT

Posted on March 13, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andrew Wiggins gathered the ball along the baseline with about a minute left in regulation, turned around and put up the kind of fade-away jumper that will soon make him millions.

When it splashed through the net, his teammates on the Kansas bench leaped to their feet.

Energized by the clutch play of their talented freshman, the No. 10 Jayhawks held on to force overtime, then pulled away for a 77-70 victory over Oklahoma State on Wednesday that earned them a spot in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.

“My shot was falling the whole game,” said Wiggins, who finished with 30 points. “They cut off the base line, and step-back is one of my main moves, and it just fell through.”

Wayne Selden Jr. added 14 points, and Naadir Tharpe made four foul shots in the extra session to seal the win for the top-seeded Jayhawks. They advanced to face fourth-seeded Iowa State, a 91-85 winner of fifth-seeded Kansas State, on Friday night.

“It was an unbelievable game,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Two teams competing hard.”

Phil Forte briefly gave the Cowboys a 70-68 lead with a 3-pointer a minute into overtime, but the Jayhawks (24-8) scored the final nine points, all but two at the foul line.

Le’Bryan Nash scored 19 points to lead the No. 8 seed Cowboys (21-12). Forte added 16 points and Marcus Smart finished with 14, though he missed all three of his shots in overtime.

“It’s always hard to beat Kansas, especially in this building,” Smart said. “They have the fanbase to back them up. It’s kind of hard. They have the energy and momentum from their fans and it kind of takes the opposing team out of it.”

Both teams had chances to earn the win in regulation.

After Wiggins hit his jumper to knot the game 67-all, Cowboys coach Travis Ford decided against going 2-for-1 on possessions, and Smart missed a 3 with 32 seconds left.

The Jayhawks got the rebound and called timeout with 16 seconds left, and set up a play for Wiggins, who missed a tightly guarded 3 with a few ticks left on the lock. Tarik Black gathered in the rebound and stuck it back, but the basket came after time had expired.

Black got extended minutes in place of Joel Embiid, the Jayhawks’ 7-foot freshman center, who has been ruled out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his back. Black finished with seven points and 12 rebounds, including a couple with the game in the balance.

Now, the Jayhawks will try to beat Iowa State for the third time this season.

“Kansas is a team that you’ve already played twice,” Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We know everybody. Everybody knows us.”

The Cowboys, who had to play a matinee after dispatching Texas Tech on Wednesday night, didn’t look as if they were weary in the first half. They actually pulled out to an early lead, silencing a heavily pro-Kansas crowd that had packed inside the Sprint Center.

Kansas responded by taking a 32-23 lead into halftime, and then maintained its advantage early in the second half. But once Black and fellow forward Perry Ellis picked up their fourth fouls, the Cowboys started shredding the Kansas defense by driving the lane.

Smart proved to be the most adept at it, picking up fouls when he wasn’t hammered on the way to the rim. But just about everyone wearing black and orange got into the act, and Oklahoma State methodically trimmed the lead to 55-49 with about 8 minutes to go.

That’s when Ford changed things up by slapping on a full-court press. It produced two quick turnovers and helped Oklahoma State take a 60-59 lead with 4 minutes left.

It was the Cowboys’ first lead since the 12-minute mark in the first half.

The two teams, who each won on their home floor during the regular season, traded blows down the stretch. Selden made a couple free throws for Kansas, Forte answered with two from the foul line for Oklahoma State. Black and Wiggins threw down alley-oop dunks for the Jayhawks, and Murphy hit a pair of free throws and Markel Brown hit a rainbow 3 to give the Cowboys the lead.

It just made sense that such a nip-and-tuck game would be decided in overtime.

“They made some big shots down the stretch,” Ford said. “Wiggins made a big shot in the corner — he played a heck of a game. They’re just a heck of a basketball team, but our guys played hard. We just didn’t have anything left in the tank at the end.”

— Associated Press —

Wildcats fall to No. 16 Iowa State in Big 12 Quarterfinals

Posted on March 13, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg wanted to see an up-and-down game against plodding Kansas State, one where the scoreboard would spin like a slot machine as points piled up.

He certainly didn’t want to see the Wildcats with 85 points by the end of it.

“They do such a good job of slowing you down,” Hoiberg said. “If you would have told me they were going to score 85, I would have told you that we were going to have trouble winning the game.”

He was right in one respect: The Cyclones did have trouble. But behind another big game from Melvin Ejim, the Big 12’s player of the year, and plenty of help from his supporting cast, the No. 16 Cyclones held on for a 91-85 victory in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.

“They match up really well with us,” said Ejim, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds. “That’s why it’s always so close. They’re a great team and they always play good defense.”

Well, except when they’re facing the Cyclones. Iowa State advanced to Friday night’s Big 12 semifinal against No. 10 Kansas, which beat Oklahoma State 77-70 in overtime.

No. 4 seed Iowa State (24-7) was clinging to an 87-85 lead with just over a minute left when Ejim missed a layup and the No. 5 seed Wildcats (20-12) got the rebound. They raced the other way, but Shane Southwell lost control going toward the rim and Iowa State came away with it.

Long was fouled and made both free throws with 16.2 seconds left. Marcus Foster missed a 3 at the other end, and Long scored a layup in transition to put an exclamation mark on the win.

Dustin Hogue finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Georges Niang added 18 points and Naz Long had 14 points for the Cyclones. DeAndre Kane scored 11 before fouling out.

Foster scored 21 points to lead the Wildcats, who had been holding opponents to 64.9 points, best in the Big 12. Southwell added 19 points, freshman Nigel Johnson had a career-best 17 and big man Thomas Gipson finished with 13 points.

“I guess it was an entertaining game,” Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said. “You shoot 54 percent and scored 85 points and you still don’t win, it’s disappointing.”

Iowa State shot poorly in the first half but dominated on the boards, while the Wildcats couldn’t seem to miss, yet coughed the ball up nine times.

The upshot of it all was that the teams played nearly to a standstill, just as they did in their two regular-season games. They each won at home in the regular season.

Iowa State had a chance to take a comfortable lead into the break, but Southwell scored a fourth-chance bucket with 14 seconds left in the half. Hoiberg called timeout to set up a play, but Kane turned the ball over and Foster hit a 3 before the buzzer.

Instead of leading by double-digits, the Cyclones had to settle for a 44-41 advantage.

They remained one step ahead of the Wildcats until the 12-minute mark, when Thomas made two free throws and Omari Lawrence made another to give Kansas state a 60-59 lead. It was the first time that Kansas State had played from ahead since there was 7:30 left in the first half.

By that point, the game resembled a boxing match.

Every time Kansas State scored, the Cyclones answered the jab. Whenever Iowa State would pull ahead, the Wildcats delivered a blow of their own. And more than once, the officiating crew had to peel bodies off the floor while calming down red-faced coaches on both benches.

The fouls started to pile up, too. Foster picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes left, and Kane took a seat on the Iowa State bench with four fouls and 9:57 to play.

Hoiberg was the first one to tempt fate by putting Kane back in with about 6 minutes left, but he was called for an offensive foul with 3:55 remaining. Kane clearly took exception to it, staring down the official who called it while the teams huddled during the under-4 timeout.

The Cyclones still led 76-74 at that point, but slowly crept out to a lead down the stretch, and then made due without Kane during a tense final push by Kansas State. Long scored for an 85-80 lead and, after Gipson scored for the Wildcats, Niang’s spinning layup made it 87-82.

Foster hit a 3 to give Kansas State a chance, but the Cyclones held on in the final minute.

“They’re a really good team,” Hogue said. “We were just able to make some stops and hit some shots down the stretch.”

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western tennis loses to McPherson College, 5-4

Posted on March 13, 2014March 13, 2014

The Missouri Western women’s tennis team played hard but fell 5-4 against the McPherson Bulldogs. The Griffons won three of the six singles matches and one of the doubles matches. The Griffons fell in a tiebreaker at No. 2 singles and won in a tiebreacker at No. 4 and No. 5 singles. The Griffons fall to 0-3 on the season and return to action on Friday, March 14 taking on the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers in their first MIAA match of the season. Match time is set for 12:00 pm in St. Joseph, Mo. at the Noyes Tennis Courts.

The Griffons opened up the day picking up one point in doubles competition. The Griffons got an 8-2 victory at No. 3 doubles from Kayla Dysart and Alyssa Dougan as they defeated Kara Wright and Ashley Allmon 8-2.

In singles competition the Griffons played hard but fell at the 1-3 positions. Dysart fell 6-3, 6-4 against Emma Sheehan at No. 1 singles while Meara Smith fell 1-6, 6-0, 10-6 in a tiebreaker at No. 2 singles.

Denise Chiao fell 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.

The Griffons won in the 4-6 positions with Ceara Boldridge defeating Brittany Gourlay 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 at No. 4 singles.
Lindsay Beger won in thrilling fashion over Claire Crossman at No. 5 singles by scores of 3-6, 7-6 (10-8) and 29-27 before Alyssa Dougan defeated Kara Wright 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6 singles.

Singles competition
1. Sheehan,Emma (MC) def. Dysart,Kayla (MWSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Vorhess,Nichole (MC) def. Smith,Meara (MWSU) 1-6, 6-0, 10-6
3. Vorhess,Brooke (MC) def. Chiao,Denise (MWSU) 6-3, 6-0
4. Boldridge,Ceara (MWSU) def. Gourlay,Brittany (MC) 6-2, 3-6, 10-4
5. Beger,Lindsay (MWSU) def. Crossman,Claire (MC) 3-6, 7-6 (10-8), 29-27
6. Dougan,Alyssa (MWSU) def. Wright,Kara (MC) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Vorhess,Brooke/Vorhess,Nichole (MC) def. Smith,Meara/Boldridge,Ceara (MWSU) 8-3
2. Sheehan,Emma/Gourlay,Brittany (MC) def. Chiao,Denise/Beger,Lindsay (MWSU) 8-1
3. Dysart,Kayla/Dougan,Alyssa (MWSU) def. Wright,Kara/Allmon,Ashley (MC) 8-2

— MWSU Sports Information —

Lafayette beats Liberty North to advance to Class 4 Quarterfinals

Posted on March 13, 2014

The Lafayette boys’ basketball team led wire-to-wire Thursday against Liberty North in their Class 4 Sectional game at Staley High School as they beat the Eagles 53-41.

The Fighting Irish improve to 23-4 this season and advance to the Class 4 quarterfinals for the second time in four years.

Lafayette led 10-9 after the first quarter, but then outscored Liberty North 20-5 in the second quarter to take control of the game and they led 30-14 at halftime.

Xavier Kurth scored 18 first half points as the Irish went 8-for-13 from the field in the second quarter and they made four three-point field goals.

Lafayette extended its lead to 18 points in the third quarter before Liberty North chipped away.

The Eagles pulled to within nine points in the fourth quarter but that was as close as they’d get.

Kurth ended the game with 21 points, while Gary Wilkinson scored 11 and Billy Cook added nine points.

It’s the 14th consecutive win for Lafayette as they will face Grandview in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. inside the Independence Event Center. The game will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and on stjosephpost.com.

Benton uses dominating second half for sectional win over Lincoln Prep

Posted on March 12, 2014

The Benton girls basketball team advanced to the Class 4 quarterfinals for the first time in seven years as the Cardinals defeated Lincoln Prep, 39-25, in their sectional game at Staley High School Wednesday.

It’s the ninth consecutive win for Benton as they improve to 19-8 and they’ll play Notre Dame de Sion in the quarterfinals at Independence Events Center on Saturday.

The Cardinals struggled in the first half against Lincoln Prep and fell behind 20-16 at halftime, but things quickly changed in the second half.

Benton outscored the Tigers 14-1 in the third quarter and 23-5 in the second half to get the 14-point win.

The Cardinals held Lincoln Prep to 2-for-12 shooting after halftime.

Mallory McAndrews led Benton with 20 points, while Morgan Domann added eight and Daejah Bernard scored six points.

Benton will play Notre Dame de Sion at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and the game will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on stjosephpost.com.