Benton outlasts Fighting Irish in 2OT district championship thriller
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — Eliana Arambula has played in a lot of big moments, and on Friday night she hit two of the biggest free throws of her career to send the Benton Cardinals on in the Class 4 state tournament.
The No. 1 seed Benton Cardinals defeated No. 2 Lafayette, 53-51, in double overtime in the Class 4 District 16 championship.
With less than 10 seconds left in the second overtime period and the game tied at 51, Arambula drove to the basket and drew the foul to send her to the line for the potential game-winning free throws.
Arambula hit both free throws to give Benton the lead, 53-51, with 6.9 seconds to go. Coming out of a timeout, Lafayette had one final chance to either tie the game and force a third overtime or take down its rival.
The Fighting Irish were able to get off a three-point shot, but the ball bounced off the front of the rim — inches away from a completely different narrative and storybook ending — with the Cardinals winning their fifth district title in six seasons.
"I'm so happy that these girls next to me are my freaking sisters and I love them so much, and they fought so freaking hard," Arambula said. "I mean, I don't know, that's just all I can say, we fought so hard."
Lafayette jumped out and led the Cardinals 7-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Irish controlled the tempo throughout the first half and took a 21-12 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, though, Benton's offense started hitting shots and its defense forced Lafayette turnovers.
The Cardinals scored 21 points in the third and took the lead going into the fourth quarter, 33-31.
The fourth quarter didn't see a lot of scoring, but enough when it mattered. With the game tied at 35, Lafayette's Emery Omon finished a three-point play to give the Irish a 38-35 advantage with just under four minutes to play.
Lafayette scored just one more point in the final minutes of the quarter, but also held Benton to just two points until the final seconds. Down 39-37, Arambula drove to the lane and kicked it to sophomore Klarabelle Turner for the game-tying bucket to force overtime tied at 39.
In the first overtime, both teams traded a few buckets, but the game needed another overtime with the teams tied at 45. Both teams struggled to score in the second overtime, but again, this one came down to one moment — and Arambula, the future Nebraska-Kearney Loper, had the ball with the game on the line.
Arambula hit two free throws with less than seven seconds to play to propel the Cardinals to another district championship with the 53-51 victory.
Turner led the Cardinals with 19 points. Lafayette's Omon had 20 points and Laniya Carriger added 11 points.
Benton (20-7) will take on Smithville (17-11) on Monday at 6 p.m. at Kearney High School in the Class 4 Sectional Round.
Lafayette finishes the season 23-4. The Fighting Irish went 63-18 over the last three seasons.
