Notre Dame gets better of Farmington girls

~ Jane Morrill led the Bulldogs with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Notre Dame sophomore Jane Morrill admits that she has felt both pressure and excitement in her first full varsity basketball season.

"Everybody's watching you and saying like, 'This sophomore is coming in and starting over some juniors,'" Morrill said. "I kind of feel bad. It's a lot of pressure and excitement. I just try to step up and do my best for my team."

The 5-foot-11 post player has stepped up and done her best to help the Bulldogs through 13 games this winter. And she added another strong performance to her resume Monday night, pouring in 18 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking four shots to lead Notre Dame past Farmington 59-50 in a home contest.

It was the second time Notre Dame (10-3) beat Farmington in the past few weeks, as the Bulldogs also got the better of the Black Knights in the championship game of the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic on Dec. 21.

Notre Dame pulled off an upset in that tournament, coming in as the No. 6 seed and beating the top-seeded Black Knights. The Bulldogs now lead the season series 2-1.

Morrill may be a sophomore, but she's been playing like an upperclassman.

She leads her team in points (17.4 per game), rebounds (149), steals (32) and block shots (50) through 13 games.

Morrill, who played mostly with the junior varsity last season as a freshman before receiving some time off the bench in the playoffs, led the Bulldogs on a 6-0 run at the start of the second quarter Monday.

With her team leading 12-11 entering the second, Morrill six straight points to push Notre Dame's lead to 18-11.

"I just tried to get open shots," Morrill said. "And I tried to help my teammates and try to score some points there."

The sophomore continued her strong shooting in the third quarter, scoring on a jumper 14 seconds in for the 27-17 lead.

Later in the period she grabbed a rebound basket, drove in and laid in a shot for a 36-21 lead. She also banked a shot off the backboard to extend the lead to 17 points at 38-21.

"Jane's a great player," said Notre Dame senior Paige Schumer, who scored 14. "She works so hard under there. It is a pleasure for me to play with her. She's got a bright future ahead of her, definitely. She just works hard. She leaves it all out there."

The Bulldogs converted their free throws, hitting 16-of-20 (80 percent) in the contest.

Farmington 11 6 14 19 -- 50

Notre Dame 12 13 18 16 -- 59

Farmington (50) -- Molly Barnes 4, Taylor Jensen 11, Kelsey Detring 13, Ashley Jenson 8, Holly Russell 11, Casey Hagen 3. FG 22, FT 4-10, F 14 (3-pointers: Jensen 1, Hagen 1 Fouled out: none)

Notre Dame (59) -- Allyson Bradshaw 6, Emily Brumitt 5, Alex Fowler 10, Jane Morrill 18, Amanda Pleimann 4, Erika Reinagel 2, Paige Schumer 14. FG 21-51, FT 16-20, F 11 (3-pointers: Brumitt 1, Fouled out: none)