No repeat in Griffith rematch

Updated: March 23, 2011 2:26PM

Griffith clearly left an impression on Benton Central.

Last year, the Panthers bumped and grinded their way to a win in the semifinal round of regionals. They are good at wearing teams down with their half-court play.

This year, the Bison took it to the Panthers defensively in the first half, and then outscored them in the second half in a 56-42 victory in the championship game of the Class 3A Rensselaer Regional.

Give the Panthers credit for setting the bar for victory for Benton Central, though it probably doesn't feel so good right now.

"They just outplayed us," Griffith coach Tom Golumbeck said.

Indeed, Benton Central coach David Baxter had Griffith on his mind well before this week.

"They play great defense," he said. "We worked so hard on our defense. They really took it to us last year."

And they really took it to Kelsey Bonewits.

Bonewits scored 13 points in the semifinal game. That included a key putback in the final seconds against Culver that tied the game. She was held without a point in the nightcap.

That was definitely a key against the Panthers, who were clearly frustrated, particularly in the first half when they had both a hard time getting shots off (5-of-17) and making them.

"We just tried to put a faster player on her and stay in front of her, " Baxter said.

The second half was a different story. Griffith was able to get shots (9-of-18) and make them. It just wasn't able to stop Benton Central. The Bison made 7-of-10 from the floor after intermission. With a lead, they were able to play cautiously and wait for the Panthers to foul. They finished 9-of-12 from the free throw line.

Golumbeck was happy with the faster pace on offense. The math just didn't work in the Panthers's favor.

"We were able to speed up the game and make shots," he said. "We just couldn't stop them."

Benton Central jumped out to a 12-7 first-quarter lead behind the stellar shooting of Caitlyn Tolen. Tolen made 5-of-6 from the floor for the the Bison in the first eight minutes.

A basket by Dani Rettig with 1:15 left in the half put the Bison up 24-12.

Benton ended the half ahead 27-14 after Tolen's three-point play. Tolen was tough inside for Benton in the first half, scoring 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting. She finished with 20 points.

In the second half, Benton stretched its lead to 16 when Marie Gadeberg made a basket with 5:30 left. The Panthers were never able to get the lead under double digits after that point.

Ashley Parish, who finished with a team-high 12 points, said the first-half lead was too much for them to overcome.

"We just dug ourselves too big a hole to get out of," she said.

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