COLUMBUS: The Smithville girl’s basketball team was unable to get past top-ranked Liberty-Benton, losing 56-34 in a Division III State semifinal Thursday afternoon at Value City Arena.
Liberty-Benton (26-0) will face Madison Senior (27-0) 10:45 a.m. Saturday for the Division III state title. They are the only undefeated teams left in the tournament.
Liberty-Benton clamped down defensively, sometimes using three defenders, on Smithville standout Jenna Pew, making her earn all of her 18 points.
Last week, Pew gained notoriety for scoring as many points (30) as opponent Elyria Catholic did in the regional final. She entered the game averaging 20.8 points a game.
Defensively, the Smithies had no answer for the Eagles seven 3-pointers. Liberty-Benton entered the game with 214 made 3-pointers on the season, second most in Ohio high school history.
Caite Craft led Liberty-Benton by hitting six 3-pointers and scored 23 points.
