Benton falls in Class 4 state semifinals; plays for 3rd on Thursday morning

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KQTV) — In a rematch of the 2025 Class 4 State Championship, the Benton Cardinals met the defending state champs, the Doniphan Donettes, in the 2026 Class 4 State semifinals on Wednesday morning.

The Cardinals carried a six-point lead, 37–31, into the fourth quarter, but Doniphan held Benton to just five points in the final frame to storm back for a 52–42 win.

Doniphan led 12–11 after the first quarter, but the Cardinals answered by outscoring the defending champions 12–9 in the second. Benton took a 23–21 lead into halftime, with Eliana Arambula pacing the Cardinals with 13 points in the opening 16 minutes.

In the third quarter, Benton limited Doniphan to 10 points and pushed its lead to 37–31 heading into the fourth.

The final eight minutes belonged entirely to the Donettes. Doniphan poured in 21 points in the quarter while Benton shot just 1-for-12 from the field. The Cardinals were outscored 21–5 in the fourth.

Arambula finished with 20 points and five rebounds. Klarabelle Turner added eight points and 12 rebounds.

"I think it's emotional because they know how much they have fought and how much they have worked hard to get back here this year. They had a lot of obstacles stacked against them early on in the year. But throughout the year, they've had to come overcome a lot of things to earn their way and to earn their right back down here," said head coach Rebecca Bailey. I could not be prouder of them for that. That definitely was not the goal we set and not the job we wanted to do when we got down here. But bottom line is, we didn't come down here to go 0-2 either. So it's not fun. Nobody wants to play for that 3rd and 4th place team except everybody else who doesn't get to be there. There are a lot of teams whose seasons have been done for several weeks that would to switch place with us. Lets go this this game tomorrow and take home third place."

Benton, now 22-8 on the season, will play for third place Thursday morning against Cardinal Ritter. Tipoff for the Class 4 third-place game is set for 10 a.m.