ND tackles Royal threat in next step

Notre Dame's days of easy victories are likely a thing of the past.

Tonight, Notre Dame's girls quest to return to the Class 2A state championship game gets serious when the Bulldogs encounter Twin Rivers in the sectional round at Cape Girardeau Central High School. It will be a meeting of two 25-win teams.

It is also the fourth sectional meeting between the schools. Notre Dame (25-2) is 3-0 against the Royals (25-3), including a 75-49 victory last year.

Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim says it's time for his team to play its best basketball after coasting through its district. The Bulldogs pummeled Kelly 69-29 in the championship game and won their three district games by a combined 139 points.

The blowouts earned Notre Dame, ranked third in the state, its sixth straight district championship.

"That's not getting us ready for games ahead and that's not a good thing," Grim said. "TwinRivers may feel the same way down there where they were."

Defending the wins

Grim has had to contend with criticism after recent lopsided victories.

"These teams have been griping about us running the score, but heck I've got to play my starters some time," he said. "We got better games in practice than we got in some of those games. We work hard in practice because sometimes that's the toughest team we will play in a while."

Twin Rivers is led by sophomore guard Amanda Lance, who shoots a sizzling 57 percent from the field. She leads the team in most departments, including scoring with 21.4 points per game. The Royals also have size inside with 6-foot senior center Rachel Baker, averaging 10 points and 10.4 rebounds.

The Royals recently returned senior Jordana Walk, who had surgery after tearing her ACL in the first day of practice. Walk, the daughter of Twin Rivers coach Jeff Walk, earned all-region honors last year. She has played sparingly and is not yet back to pre-injury form.

Notre Dame, led by the balanced scoring of senior center Deana McCormick and sisters Lisa and Ashley Millham, also has an inside-outside attack. All three players average between 14 and 16 points.

The Bulldogs have won 14 straight games.

"They've been beating people pretty bad," Jeff Walk said. "I'm sure they're not going to do anything different than what they've been doing."

Both teams will have to cope with the pressure of knowing a loss ends their season and dreams.

"I think how we handle the pressure of the ball game and the pressure they're going to put on us will be the key," Walk said.

jbreer@semissourian.com

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