ND girls clamp smothering 'D' on Central

Editor's note: The box score for the game has been changed from the one that appeared in Tuesday's Southeast Missourian. The correct point totals are listed for Central.

A hounding defense and an unstoppable duo inside led Notre Dame to a 69-53 victory over rival Central on Monday night at the Show Me Center.

The Bulldogs (17-4, 5-0) forced countless turnovers with their defense and Jane Morrill and Brooke Bohnert provided the scoring against the Tigers (12-6, 2-1).

"We did not have an answer for them [Morrill and Bohnert]," Central coach Sherri Shirrell said. "They are a good ballclub and got the ball inside. Give them credit, they had a good game plan."

Five different players scored to help the Bulldogs surge to a 9-0 lead.

"Any time you get an early lead, it's big," Notre Dame coach Renee Peters said. "It helps propel you. It gives confidence on your side. We talked about beating them eight minutes at a time, and I was proud of the way the girls played."

Central senior guard Sadie Pittman scored seven of her game-high 22 points in the first quarter, but Notre Dame led 24-11 at the close of the quarter.

The Tigers opened the second on a 10-3 run, closing to 27-21 on a basket by Paige Smith. But Morrill fed Bohnert twice in the paint to push the lead to 10 in a matter of seconds.

"Keeping it within 10 most of the quarter was big," Shirrell said. "The game was still in reach at halftime, the second half we just let them get baskets."

The Bulldogs defense showed its teeth late in the second quarter with numerous turnovers that led to easy baskets.

"We started forcing turnovers which adds to their frustration," Peters said. "They couldn't get set up in their offense. And our offense feeds off our defense."

Bohnert, a sophomore forward, had 10 of her 19 points in the second quarter as Notre Dame stretched its lead to 39-25 with a Bohnert basket at the buzzer.

"She was on the floor diving in the first three seconds," Peters said of Bohnert. "She makes things happen. She plays with a lot of heart and scrappiness. She makes us a better team."

Notre Dame opened the second half with a 6-0 run to gain its first 20-point lead.

"Their defense gave us fits," Shirrell said. "We had a hard time handling the ball. They put good pressure on us."

Morrill dominated the third quarter. The senior scored nine of her game-high 26 points in the quarter. She also added seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks on the night.

"I just work on getting open," Morrill said. "It opens up the rest of things."

Peters had positive words about her senior center, who is headed to Arkansas State on a basketball scholarship.

"Jane at times can be the most unselfish player on the planet," Peters said. "It's nice, but we needed her to dominate and she did tonight. She had multiple put backs on offense and she had some great passes. She's smart enough to know when to take shots and when to dish off."

The Tigers had no answer for Morrill as they trailed 55-38 after three quarters.

Notre Dame moved ahead 69-44 before the Tigers ended the game with a 9-0 run.

The Bulldogs shot 59 percent from the field (31 of 52), while Central was held to 39 percent (18 of 46).

Meghan Dohogne added nine points and eight rebounds for Notre Dame.

Michaela Durham scored 12 points for the Tigers.

Notre Dame 24 15 16 14 -- 69

Central 11 14 13 15 -- 53

NOTRE DAME (69) -- Allyson Bradshaw 9, Brooke Bohnert 19, Nicole Blattel 1, Meghan Dohogne 9, Jane Morrill 26, Katherine Blasiney 1, Summer Burger 4. FG 31, FT 3-8, F 15. (3-pointers: Bradshaw, Morrill. Fouled out: none.)

CENTRAL (53) -- Allie Hardesty 2, Sadie Pittman 22, Farrah Malik 3, Chelsea Pannier 4, Paige Smith 4, Starr Harris 6, Chelsea Vinson 12. FG 18, FT 12-17, F 10. (3-pointers: Pittman 2, Malik. Fouled out: none.)