Notre Dame girls basketball team defeats Sikeston to reach Class 4 District 1 title game

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Notre Dame subdued Sikeston at the free-throw line Thursday.

Sikeston mounted two charges in the second half, but Notre Dame's ability to convert free throws down the stretch proved the difference in their Class 4 District 1 girls basketball semifinal.

"Take a deep breath, shoot with confidence and hope they go in," Notre Dame senior Brooke Bohnert said.

Notre Dame posted the 63-56 victory because it shot 81 percent from the line in the second half, including 10 of 12 in the fourth quarter.

"I just take a deep breath and tell yourself you can do it," said Notre Dame senior Summer Burger, who went 6 of 7 from the line in the second half. "I just replay me making it, like in practice. I just stay focused and hope it goes in."

Notre Dame's Brooke Bohnert dives for the ball during first quarter of Thursday's Class 4 District 1 semifinal against Sikeston in Sikeston, Mo. Notre Dame won 63-56. (BECKY MALEWITZ)

While Notre Dame was converting, Sikeston (16-10) struggled at the line. It only made 7 of 21 (33 percent) from the line, including 4 of 13 in the second half.

Notre Dame coach Renee Peters said she uses different practice techniques to prepare her players for the pressure of late-game free throws.

"In practice, they've got to hit 80 percent or they're running a little bit," Peters said. "We shoot 10 free throws after we've done a full-court drill. They have to hit them when they're tired."

Notre Dame (14-12) used a 13-2 run midway through the second quarter to gain some breathing room. It went 8 of 16 from the field and 5 of 7 from the line in the second quarter to grab a 13-point lead at the intermission.

Sikeston committed 18 turnovers in the first half, which was reminiscent of the last time these teams met. Sikeston turned over the ball 43 times in a 71-42 loss Jan. 12 at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's Miranda Fowler drives around Sikeston's Mikala Nichols during the third quarter of a Class 4 District 1 semifinal game on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2012, in Sikeston. Notre Dame won 63-56. (Kristin Eberts)

But Sikeston changed the tenor of Thursday's game in the second half. It stormed back to start the third quarter and got within four points on a basket by Mikala Tinnon. Notre Dame missed four of its first five shots in the second half.

"During those runs, they were hitting keys basket," Burger said. "Their 3-point shooters were really hurting us tonight because they were all falling. And they were playing a 1-3-1 defense, which we had never seen before or played against, so it was hard to adjust to a defense we weren't used to."

A Miranda Fowler jumper pushed Notre Dame's lead to six and sparked a 10-3 run to end the quarter.

Notre Dame's lead ballooned to 16 points on a drive by Burger with 4 minutes, 31 seconds left in the contest, but Sikeston countered with a 9-0 run to get within seven.

"They were playing very tight defense," Burger said. "I think that kind of startled us a little bit. But we started to settle down a little bit. We started to play better."

Notre Dame’s Summer Burger drives around Sikeston’s Mikala Nichols during the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame went 7 of 8 from the free-throw line after Sikeston got within seven points.

"The bottom line is they made free throws and we didn't," Sikeston coach Matt Schonhoff said.

Sikeston only turned over the ball seven times in the second half, and it outscored Notre Dame by six points after the break. But Notre Dame outscored Sikeston by 14 points at the free-throw line despite only taking seven more attempts.

"I thought it was tooth-and-nail throughout the whole way," Schonhoff said.

Notre Dame will face a familiar foe in today's 6 p.m. district title game. Dexter, the top seed, will try to defeat Notre Dame in the district championship game for the second consecutive year.

Sikeston 6 13 15 22 -- 56

Notre Dame 11 21 13 18 -- 63

SIKESTON (56) -- Darqueisheanna Howard 17, Taneshia Pulley 8, Tyangela Gibson 11, Leah Little 13, Danika Garmon 2, Mikala Nichols 2, Keyonna Blissett 3. FG 22, FT 7-21, F 24. (3-pointers: Howard 4, Gibson 1. Fouled out: Gibson)

NOTRE DAME (63) -- Summer Burger 19, Annie Siebert 6, Brooke Bohnert 21, Shelby Beussink 6, Miranda Fowler 7, Madison Huckstep 2, Kaycee Landewee 2. FG 21, FT 21-28, F 19. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)