ND GETS TWO CRACKS AT 2A SECTIONALS; LADY BULLDOGS MEET TWIN RIVERS

Twin Rivers wants to slow dance.

Notre Dame wants to rock.

The team that dictates the tempo will have the upper hand tonight when the Lady Royals (25-3) take on the Lady Bulldogs (24-3) at 8:15 p.m. in a sectional game at Cape Central's Tiger Fieldhouse.

"We have to control the basketball. We'll make 15 or 20 passes whatever we have to do," said Twin Rivers coach Jeff Walk somewhat sarcastically. "We want to control the tempo."

Said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim, "I think we have to do the things that we do best. We have to try to push the ball and if it's not there be patient in the half court. But we're at our best in the open court."

The Lady Bulldogs, the top-ranked team in Class 2A, aren't a huge team, but they will have a distinct height advantage at all five positions because Twin Rivers' backcourt consists of guards that go 5-foot-2, 5-4 and 5-6. Notre Dame's shortest starter is 5-8.

Lady Royals post player Rachel Baker, at 5-9, will have the unenviable task of trying to stop 6-foot junior center Deana McCormick, Notre Dame's leading scorer and rebounder.

McCormick averages 14 points per game, percentage points ahead of Lisa Millham. McCormick also grabs eight rebounds per game and shoots 72 percent from the free-throw line.

"(Baker) will have to play bigger than she really is," Walk said. "Their size worries me."

Twin Rivers, though, will be no pushover for Notre Dame. The Lady Royals' three losses this year have come to Doniphan (currently in the 3A Final Four) twice and Malden once.

Twin Rivers beat Cape Central at home and also knocked off 10th-ranked Alton. Twin Rivers was state-ranked most of the year. In the last two years, Twin Rivers is the only small school in the region that has competed with the Lady Bulldogs. Notre Dame has outscored its eight 1A-2A opponents this year by 37 points. Notre Dame beat Twin Rivers twice last year, once by 10 points and the other time by 11 in the sectional game.

"They're very capable of beating us if we don't play well," said Grim. "They've got some kids who can shoot the three and they can slash for baskets.

Amanda Lance leads Twin Rivers with 15 points per game, while Jordanna Walk and Nikki Clark both score about 12 per game.

NOTRE DAME

LADY Bulldogs

Record: 24-3

Key Players

Deana McCormick (14 ppg, 8 rpg)

Lisa Millham (14 ppg, 3 apg)

Ashley Millham (11 ppg, 2 spg)

Courtney Vickery (6 ppg, 4 apg)

Notes: Notre Dame is ranked first in Class 2A. Vickery leads the team in assists with 80 despite missing five games. Lisa Millham was named second-team all-state last year. Notre Dame has outscored its eight 1A and 2A opponents by an average margin of 37 points. All three of the Lady Bulldogs' losses have come to 4A schools Poplar Bluff, Jackson and Cape Central. Notre Dame later beat Jackson -- now in the Final Four -- and Cape Central.

TWIN RIVERS

LADY ROYALS

Record: 25-3

Key Players

Amanda Lance (15 ppg)

Jordanna Walk (12 ppg)

Nikki Clark (12 ppg)

Notes: Twin Rivers' losses came to Doniphan -- now in the 3A Final Four -- and twice and Malden. Twin Rivers defeated Cape Central at home earlier this year and knocked off 10th-ranked Alton.