ND girls clobber Tigers 61-26

~ The Bulldogs remained hot with their fourth straight win.

Notre Dame's girls basketball team strung together three big wins last week -- two of its wins came over some of the area's top squads -- as the Bulldogs celebrated the career of coach Jerry Grim.

The Bulldogs continued their charge toward the district playoffs with a 61-26 rout of rival Central on Tuesday at the Show Me Center.

"The last few games have been close until the half, and we picked it up the second half," Grim said. "We've played some pretty darn good teams, and we have some good ones coming up."

Last week the Bulldogs went on the road to defeat state-ranked Doniphan, routed Jackson at home and then dispatched of a strong MICDS squad Saturday on Jerry Grim Day. Notre Dame has now won four straight, and six of its last seven games, to improve to 13-6.

"Doniphan at Doniphan, that was a big win," Grim said. "That set the tone for the rest of the week. Jackson, we knew we could play with them. We didn't think it would be a game like that. MICDS came in with a record like ours."

Notre Dame scored the game's first 13 points Tuesday and led 19-2 after one quarter. By halftime the Bulldogs led 35-9. Senior guard Meridith Medlin scored 12 first-half points for Notre Dame.

The Bulldogs led by as many as 39 points during the second half and cruised the rest of the way. Medlin led all scorers with 16 points, and Claudia Brauss and Alex Fowler added 10 points apiece.

"That's the way we play ball, we try not to get too sloppy," Grim said. "We try to push the ball when we can, and be patient when we can. We did a good job of that for the most part."

With only four games remaining in the regular season, the Bulldogs are coming into their own heading into the playoffs. Notre Dame will travel to Westminster on Saturday, followed by a key matchup Monday with district foe Dexter. The Bulldogs finish with Nerinx Hall on Feb. 12.

"We've got some tough games," Grim said. "It's time to turn it up or get ready to go home."

Late-season runs are nothing new to the Bulldogs. Grim's philosophy is to treat the regular season as preparation for the postseason. Last year, Notre Dame won nine of 11 down the stretch to climb above .500.

This season, the Bulldogs started strong at 7-2 following a third-place finish at the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic. Consecutive losses to district foe Fredericktown, Farmington and St. Joseph's Academy put the Bulldogs at 7-5, but Notre Dame has been playing well ever since.

"The last few years our stretch runs have fallen short," Grim said. "We always try to treat the [regular] season as preseason. District is what counts. The team that gets hot at the end is the one that ends up at the big show, which is where we're always trying to get to."

Wendi Zickfield led the Tigers with 10 points. Central fell to 7-10.

Notre Dame 61, Central 26

Central 2 7 9 8 -- 26

Notre Dame 19 16 16 10 -- 61

CENTRAL (26) -- Wendi Zickfield 10, Courtney Schuessler 5, Kristin Shirrell 5, Tierra Walker 2, Taylor Kirn 2, Sarah Uptmor 2. FG 12, FT 1-4, F 11 (3-pointers: Shirrell 1. Fouled out: none)

NOTRE DAME (61) -- Meridith Medlin 16, Claudia Brauss 10, Alex Fowler 10, Kristain Burger 9, Paige Schumer 6, Brooke Beussink 2, Paris Burger 3. FG 23, FT 12-18, F 9 (3-pointers: P. Burger 1. Fouled out: none)

Boys GAME

Notre Dame 79, Central 45

Notre Dame 22 20 26 11 -- 79

Central 6 13 12 14 -- 45

NOTRE DAME (79) -- Ryan Willen 23, Ty Williams 22, Mark Himmelberg 9, Chad Friend 6, John Unterreiner 5, Austin Greer 6, Logan Glueck 2, Ivan Thomas 2, Abe Dirnberger 4. FG 30, FT 9-11, F 12 (3-pointers: Williams 6, Himmelberg 3, Unterreiner 1. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (45) -- Anthony Watts 13, Kerry Walker 11, George Hamilton 8, Jajuan Bell 6, Landon Ewers 2, Garrett Pannier 4, Chase Johnson 1. FG 16, FT 8-12, F 15 (3-pointers: Watts 4. Fouled out: none)