Jackson girls stop Notre Dame

The Notre Dame girls basketball team hung in there as long as it could.

Then Jackson pulled away.

The Indians seized control midway through the fourth quarter and surged ahead for a 65-60 victory at Notre Dame on Thursday night.

Notre Dame battled all night, making several 3-pointers to stay in the game, but the Indians took care of the ball late to seal the victory.

The Bulldogs went ahead 55-54 on a Summer Burger basket with five minutes left, but Makenzie Quade answered with a jumper to give Jackson an edge it never relinquished.

Notre Dame's Brooke Bohnert takes a shot as she is defended by Jackson's Paden Wachter (5) and Brooke Sanders during the third quarter Thursday at Notre Dame. (Kristin Eberts)

The Bulldogs cut it to 58-57, but Jackson controlled the ball and played tight defense to thwart the comeback.

"I felt like we stepped it up a little bit on defense," Jackson coach Shelia Haertling said. "We knew from the very beginning that once Allyson [Bradshaw] got rid of the ball she wasn't to get it back, I thought we did a good job of helping on the ball screens. I think our kids played smart defensively."

Notre Dame (2-3) held the upper hand in the first half.

Sophomore Miranda Fowler came out firing, hitting two 3-pointers among her 10 points in the first quarter in helping Notre Dame to an 18-17 advantage.

"We weren't guarding as well in the first half," Haertling said. "We let the post man come out, which we didn't realize could shoot the 3. And they shot a couple of 3s at the top of the key on our post, which we have a tendency to stay in the paint and help and we didn't get out. And then we let Bradshaw get a couple of shots off there. And any time you give Notre Dame the momentum in their gym, they're going to hurt you."

Notre Dame's Allyson Bradshaw shoots over Jackson's Rachel Hodo during the second quarter Thursday at Notre Dame.

Fowler finished with 16 points.

"Miranda is more comfortable on the perimeter," Notre Dame coach Renee Peters said. "She kind of came out a little bit and balanced the scoring."

Notre Dame continued to knock down shots in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs had no answer for Jackson's Brooke Sanders.

Sanders netted 13 first-half points and finished with a game-high 24.

The senior beat anything the Bulldogs threw at her as she kept Jackson (4-2) close.

Jackson's Paden Wachter drives past Notre Dame's Summer Burger during the first quarter of a game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2010, in Cape Girardeau. (Kristin Eberts)

"What did she not do well?" Haertling said. "I think she played a great game. She played a great game offensively, obviously the points show that. But she shot the ball well from the free-throw line. She did a great job defensively. I think she had six or seven steals. She played great all the way around. She's a senior and it showed."

Added Sanders: "I think as a team we moved the ball well, I got open looks."

The Bulldogs took a 36-34 lead into halftime.

Jackson surged ahead in the third quarter as sophomore Danielle Daume scored eight points. The Bulldogs went to a zone to slow down the Indians' post player, Connor King, but Daume made them pay with a pair of 3-pointers.

"That was huge," Haertling said. "I've had a lot of conversations with Danielle that her job on this team is to score because she can't handle the ball very well, but she can shoot the ball very well. She has a tendency to hide back and let somebody else do it, but we had the conversation today: 'If you want to stay on that floor, you have to shoot the ball.' And she handled it."

"That was huge," Sanders said. "They went into a zone, and she came out and hit two big 3s."

Daume's second 3-pointer of the quarter gave Jackson a 47-45 lead, and the Indians took a 50-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

Jackson limited the Bulldogs to 11 points in the fourth quarter as it pulled away.

"We just switched around on defense a little bit," Sanders said. "On offense, we calmed down a little bit and looked for good shots."

The Indians took the 58-57 lead with just under five minutes to go, and from there the Indians demonstrated patience and knocked down free throws.

"They took care of the ball," Peters said. "We had some key turnovers down the stretch. I think down the stretch they were in a position to have confidence on their side. We came down and threw up some shots we maybe shouldn't have."

The Indians had four girls in double figures, led by Sanders' 24. Daume added 12, while King and Quade tallied 10 apiece.

Bradshaw paced Notre Dame with 19 points. Burger added 10.

Jackson 17 17 16 15 -- 65

Notre Dame 18 18 13 11 -- 60

JACKSON (65) -- Paden Watcher 2, Brooke Sanders 24, Connor King 10, Kylie Seyer 7, Danielle Daume 12, Makenzie Quade 10. FG 21, FT 21-30, F 14. (3-pointers: Daume 2. Fouled out: none.)

NOTRE DAME (60) -- Miranda Fowler 16, Summer Burger 10, Allyson Bradshaw 19, Brooke Bohnert 8, Nicole Blattel 2, Kaelin Hale 5. FG 22, FT 9-12, F 23. (3-pointers: Fowler 2, Hale, Burger, Bradshaw 3. Fouled out: none.)