Morrill helps lead Notre Dame girls past Central

The first half was one to forget for Notre Dame's Jane Morrill.

The junior went 1 of 11 from the field and her team was down to the hot-shooting Central girls basketball team.

But Morrill and her Bulldogs teammates heated up in the second half on offense and defense, emerging with the 56-43 win at the Show Me Center.

"I was in kind of a funk, I guess," Morrill said. "My shot wasn't falling and I kept getting frustrated. I tried to do well on defense and that wasn't working. I'm not sure what was going on."

Notre Dame coach Renee Peters encouraged Morrill to keep shooting even though she missed her first nine shots.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.comNotre Dame's Jane Morrill passes the ball in front of Central's Wendi Zickfield during the fourth quarter Monday at the Show Me Center.

"Jane is streaky," Peters said. "If she makes her first two baskets, it's lights out. If she doesn't, it's going to be, 'Come on, come on.' We're a better team when she touches the ball."

In addition to Morrill's struggles, the Tigers shot a sizzling 57 percent (13 of 23) from the floor in the first half. They did a nice job of working the ball inside to Wendi Zickfield and Michaela Durham. Zickfield, who finished with 16 points, scored eight points in the first quarter alone.

"I think we pretty much set the tempo in that first half and played at our speed," Central coach Sherri Shirrell said. "We knew they like to run, so we slowed it down a little bit."

Plus, Shirrell added a new wrinkle to the mix in the first half to try to slow down Morrill.

"We changed our defense to keep Wendi out of the middle a little bit, out of foul trouble," Shirrell said. "Luckily they were missing some shots on the inside. We rebounded a little better than we had been."

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.comNotre Dame's Emily Brumitt, right, battles Central's Sadie Pittman for a rebound in the second quarter Monday at the Show Me Center.

But the Bulldogs turned things around in the third quarter with their stifling defense. Central (6-10) managed two points on a Zickfield basket with 31 seconds left.

"I think they knew the third quarter really hurt us," Shirrell said of her team. "They're pressing to get the ball in to Wendi, and they did a good job of covering her up in the second half and not allowing her to have the ball. We weren't making good choices."

Notre Dame (16-5) drew on its experience Jan. 19 against Poplar Bluff, when the Bulldogs shut out the Mules in the third quarter. Notre Dame senior Alex Fowler said she and her teammates tried to repeat that performance.

"We wanted to come out and we wanted to play hard and we wanted to get in their face," Fowler said. "With about three minutes left, Emily [Brumitt] turned to me and said, 'Let's not let them score again.'"

Central shot 13 percent (1 of 8) in the third quarter.

Notre Dame's Emily Brumitt, right, battles Central's Sadie Pittman for a rebound during the second quarter.

"We had to pick up the intensity," Fowler said of the second-half turnaround. "We came in and we were lackadaisical in the first half on defense. We needed to come and we needed to pick it up and we needed to block their passes and get in their face."

In addition to the defensive effort, the third quarter got off to a good start for Morrill. She hit a jumper 8 seconds in, and finished with seven points in the quarter.

"I tried to get closer shots, layups or easier shots," said Morrill, who finished with 17 rebounds and a game-high 17 points. "I was trying not to force it as much, which I know I do. I just tried to stay back and think about what I'm doing and try to get a good look instead of throw something up."

Morrill even hit a 3-pointer from the corner during the third quarter. Peters said she's seen Morrill toss up long-distance shots before.

"She does it in practice," Peters said. "She can do it, but she's thinking outside the box a little bit. Whatever it takes to get it through the hoop, whatever it takes to win."

Morrill doesn't plan on adding the 3-pointer to her repertoire in games.

"That was just, I don't know," Morrill said. "I pulled out and it was there. I said, 'I'll just shoot it.' I don't know if I'm going to add that. No, probably not. It just happened, I guess."

Central cut the deficit to eight points when Sadie Pittman hit a shot in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, but Notre Dame pushed its lead to as large as 14 points and held on for the win.

"They came out in the second half and they scored a few times and they got us into their running game," Shirrell said. "We got to moving the ball a little too quickly and threw the ball away a few times."

Central1118212—43

Notre Dame12141515—56

CENTRAL (43) — Sadie Pittman 12, Wendi Zickfield 16, Farrah Malik 2, Chelsea Pannier 9, Michaela Durham 4. FG 19, FT 2-2, F 8. (3-pointers: Pannier 3. Fouled out: None)

NOTRE DAME (56) — Emily Brumitt 10, Alex Fowler 8, Jane Morrill 17, Meghan Dohogne 11, Allyson Bradshaw 9, Lacy Boeller 1. FG 23, FT 3-11, F 4. (3-pointers: Fowler 2, Bradshaw 2, Brumitt 2, Morrill 1. Fouled out: None)