Notre Dame claims Holiday Classic title

In an uncharacteristic sloppy game among two of the area's power teams, Notre Dame's Karsen Powers took it upon herself to will the Bulldogs to victory.

It worked.

Powers was the Bulldogs' fearless leader throughout the decisive second half and second-seeded Notre Dame dethroned defending champion Saxony Lutheran 40-37 on Thursday night in the championship game of the 18th Annual Kelso Supply Holiday Classic.

"It was a big game," Powers said. "I knew it was my turn to step up for my team."

Did she ever.

The scrappy senior guard netted nine of her game-high 16 points in the second half, including six in the final eight minutes to propel Notre Dame (6-0) to victory.

"Karsen was phenomenal for us," Notre Dame coach Renee Peters said. "They all wanted this, but she took it in her hands."

It appeared the Crusaders, led by five sophomores, were going to dash the Bulldogs' title hopes and repeat as champions with a frantic comeback in the fourth.

Notre Dame opened the final quarter with a 29-27 lead and Powers hit a trey followed by a Shelby Beussink basket to make it 34-27 with just under seven minutes remaining.

The Crusaders (4-2) failed to go away.

Grace Mirly hit a basket to cut it to 34-29.

Saxony's Tess Daniel hit a layin after two Bulldog misses, and Maddie Brune added back-to-back baskets to give the Crusaders a 35-34 lead with 4 minutes, 12 seconds left to play.

"We just made a few plays here and there," Saxony coach Sam Sides said. "When they left us open we made some shots. We had some other opportunities we just couldn't finish."

Powers then stepped forward.

She hit a layin to give Notre Dame the lead, but Mirly answered with a pull-up shot in the lane to give Saxony a 37-36 edge with 2:48 left.

It was the last basket Saxony scored.

"We started pressuring the ball a lot more instead of laying back," Powers said.

Notre Dame took the lead on two free throws by Beussink after a Bulldog timeout.

"I knew we were close to being in the bonus," Peters said. "I knew once we got the lead ... I called that one timeout, I said, 'Just take care of the ball. We don't need any heroics at this time. Lets take care of the ball, control the ball, and hit our free-throws.'"

Chaos occurred following the Beussink free throws.

Saxony's Brianna Mueller missed a jumper that would have tied the game, and Notre Dame received the ball out of bounds under its own basket.

The inbound pass was stolen by Saxony's Maci Daniel, but Daniel's potential game-tying shot in traffic caromed off the rim and was controlled by Notre Dame.

Bulldog senior Annie Siebert was fouled and made the first of two free-throws before missing the second, but Siebert hustled back on defense to block Mueller's potential game-tying 3-pointer to seal the victory.

"They're a very experienced team," Sides said. "A good team. They deserved to win it. They outplayed us, but it was very close."

The first half was sloppy with each team turning the ball over 16 times.

Notre Dame shot just 6 of 13 in the opening half, while Saxony sputtered to a 7-of-20 start for the game.

"We were playing not to lose that first half instead of playing to win," Peters said. "We were tight. I think that was the reason we had all those turnovers, but fortunately the ball bounced our way."

Notre Dame trailed 8-5 after the first quarter.

"I was real proud of our effort and our defense," Sides said. "I thought our defensive intensity, execution, and our team work was great. So I was real pleased with that. We just didn't put the ball in the basket."

Powers scored all seven of her first-half points in the second quarter.

"I can't speak enough of her," Peters said. "She's my little dynamo."

The Bulldogs clawed back in the game thanks to a solid performance from the charity stripe.

Notre Dame was 6 of 7 in the second quarter and took a 20-18 lead into intermission after senior guard Kayce Landewee was fouled on a 3-point attempt at the buzzer and made all three free throws.

It all set up a wild second half that eventually saw the Bulldogs hand Saxony their second loss of the season, the first one coming Saturday at the hands of the Bulldogs as well.

Notre Dame 5 15 9 11 -- 40

Saxony 8 10 9 10 -- 37

NOTRE DAME (40) -- Annie Siebert 9, Karsen Powers 16, Kaitlin Welter 5, Shelby Beussink 7, Kayce Landewee 3. FG 10, FT 10-15, F 16. (3-pointers: Powers 2, Welter 1. Fouled out: none.)

SAXONY (37) -- Grace Mirly 14, Brianna Mueller 4, Maddie Brune 8, Raegan Wieser 5, Ashlynn Collier 2, Ali Galemmo 2, Tess Daniel 2. FG 13, FT 2-6, F 16. (3-pointers: Mirly 2, Wieser 1. Fouled out: Daniels.)