ND seals 3rd with win over Sparta

Led by senior Sommer McCauley's 18 points and five rebounds, the Notre Dame Bulldogs defeated Sparta 55-38 to take third place in the HealthSouth Holiday Classic.

The Lady Bulldogs put the pressure on Sparta early by forcing several errant passes and costly turnovers. Bad ball-handling by Sparta helped Notre Dame get easy baskets early.

Racing out to an early 7-0 advantage, Notre Dame (6-3) stayed in control and never trailed.

Sparta closed the gap to 34-31 early in the third quarter after a 10-2 run, but Notre Dame held off Sparta's surge. They capped the win by scoring the final 14 points.

The Bulldogs of Sparta got 12 points from senior guard Rachel Rednour, who fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.

"I think we played pretty good," McCauley said. "We came out with more intensity than them."

Notre Dame got strong contributions from seniors Sierra Ellis and Katie Palmer. Ellis had 11 points and pulled down four rebounds. Palmer added 10 points to go along with five rebounds.

Notre Dame 15 13 11 16 -- 55

Sparta 11 10 11 6 -- 38

NOTRE DAME (55) -- Sommer McCauley 18, Sierra Ellis 11, Amanda Dirnberger 6, Laura Weissmueller 5, Amber Karnes 5, Katie Palmer 10. FG 21, FT 11-24, F 14 (3-pointers: McCauley 1. Fouled out: none)

SPARTA (38) -- Grace Weber 3, Rachel Rednour 12, Ashley Robison 11, Lauren Buch 4, Liere Dancy 8. FG 17, FT 4-9, F 21 (3-pointers: Robison 2. Fouled out: Rednour)

-- Daniel Winningham

Perryville 55, Dexter 51, 2 OT

Perryville won the consolation title in double overtime.

Perryville trailed throughout the game but used a late fourth- quarter rally to send the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, Rachel Blunt hit two free throws for Dexter with four seconds left to tie the game at 49. April Lorenz scored five points for Perryville in the second overtime, and the Pirates held Dexter scoreless.

Kate Lowry led Perryville with 22 points, including six 3-pointers. Lorenz had 17. For Dexter, Taylor Nelson had 28 points and Blunt 13.

Central 45, Central JV 9

Central rolled past the school's junior varsity team in the seventh-place game. Megan McDonald had 12 points, Meg Yates 11, and Erica Schabbing 10 for the varsity squad.

Central JV 0 6 2 1 -- 9

Central 15 9 15 6 -- 45

CENTRAL JV (9) -- Kristen Shirrell 4, Bethany Sweet 2, Callie Hoffman 1, Hannah Kinder 2. FG 4, FT 1-2, F 4 (3- pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (45) -- Meg Yates 11, Erica Schabbing 12, Sonja Williams 6, Megan McDonald 12, Lee Thomas 6. FG 20, FT 3-4, F 4 (3-pointers: Yates 2, McDonald 2. Fouled out: none)

All tournament team

Tournament winner Jackson and runner-up Farmington each placed two players on the 10-person all-tournament team.

Ashley Bartels and Linden Hahs made the team from the champion Indians. Farmington had Natalie Bess and Katelyn Peterson.

Others picked were Central's Megan McDonald, Rachel Rednour of Sparta, Sommer Mc-Cauley and Sierra Ellis of Notre Dame, April Lorenz of Perryville and Taylor Nelson of Dexter.

JACKSON 49, FARMINGTON 40Jackson 11 11 13 14 -- 49

Farmington 9 9 10 12 -- 40

JACKSON (49) -- Ashley Bartels 21, Linden Hahs 9, Bobbie Jones 10, Kate Loos 2, Kylie Werner 2, Jennifer Ferrell 3. FG 16, FT 12-18, F 14 (3-pointers: Hahs 1, Ferrrell 1. Fouled out: none)

FARMINGTON (40) -- Katelyn Peterson 9, Natalie Bess 4, Natalie Hooss 6, Julie Schnurbusch 6, Cassie Tiefenauer 10, Jessica Arnold 3. FG 14, FT 9-14, F 17 (3-pointers: Tiefenauer 2, Arnold 1. Fouled out: none)

-- From staff reports