Bulldogs capture tourney title

ST. LOUIS -- Notre Dame girls basketball coach Renee Peters did not know what to expect from her team at the Queen of Hearts Tournament.

The Bulldogs, who were playing in the eight-team event for the first time, boasted the top seed. But they also came into the tournament after four days without practice because of the inclement weather.

It took a couple of games to get back into the swing of things, but the Bulldogs looked every bit a top seed in Saturday's championship game. They won a battle of the Notre Dames, defeating St. Louis Notre Dame 54-30 at Villa Duchesne High School.

"We found out that we were the No. 1 seed and we tried to go out there and prove that we were the best team," Notre Dame junior Meghan Dohogne said. "We knew it was going to be a competitive tournament and that we would see some different teams. We worked well together and had a lot of fun."

The Bulldogs, who had a challenge from Principia in the semifinals, saved their best for the last game of the tournament as they jumped on St. Louis Notre Dame, which was a final four team last year. The Rebels, who graduated seven seniors last year, beat the Bulldogs last season.

But the title tilt Saturday was never a contest as the Bulldogs scored the game's first eight points. St. Louis Notre Dame did not score until almost six minutes into the game and was in single figures at halftime as the Bulldogs raced to a 29-8 halftime advantage.

Jane Morrill, who scored 27 points against the Rebels in the loss last year, had 11 first-half points. But the Bulldogs also got a big boost from Dohogne, who had a stretch in which she scored five points, had a steal and a block in a span of about 10 seconds.

"That was a good 10 seconds," Dohogne said.

The Rebels had an early six-point run in the second half but never were able to make a dent in the big Bulldogs lead. They needed a 3-pointer in the final seconds to reach 30 points.

"That is the type of game we like to play," Peters said. "We had the transition game going and were focused from the opening tip. We were not our crispest or our sharpest in the first couple of games of this tournament. But we played under control and had our best performance today."

The Bulldogs will get another look at the teams that finished second and third in this tournament. They will travel to St. Louis on Valentine's Day for a rematch against the Rebels, and will host Villa Duchesne on Thursday. Villa won the third-place game Saturday.

Morrill finished with 21 points. Dohogne and freshman Brooke Bohnert added 10 each for the Bulldogs, which improved to 15-5 for the season.

The Rebels fell to 11-8.

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:ND St. Louis441111--30

ND Cape12171114--54

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:NOTRE DAME ST. LOUIS -- Ashley Giffin 9, Michelle Auer 6, Gabby Reppell 6, Jessica Magee 5, Sam Goodman 2, Jacqueline Sewester 2. FG 14, FT 1-5. F 17. (3-pointers: Magee 1. Fouled out: Gasperoni)

NOTRE DAME CAPE -- Jane Morrill 21, Meghan Dohogne 10, Brooke Bohnert 10, Alex Fowler 6, Allyson Bradshaw 4, Emily Brumitt 3. FG 20, FT 12-18, F 11. (3-pointers: Fowler 1, Brumitt 1)