Notre Dame girls basketball team records rout in district semifinals

It took awhile for the Notre Dame girls basketball team to get its high-powered offense in gear.

But once they did, the Bulldogs quickly took care of business.

Notre Dame blitzed Sikeston 59-23 in a Class 4 District 1 semifinal Thursday before a full house at Central High School. The win lifted the second-seeded Bulldogs into a district championship rematch with powerful Dexter (23-3), the district's top seed, tonight at the same venue.

That's a game, Notre Dame coach Renee Peters said, her squad has been pointing to for some time.

"I'm not going to lie," Peters said. "This is what we've been working for all season. We've got a wonderful record, we've got eight seniors, and they want this one more chance. Hopefully tomorrow we can come out and play our game."

Notre Dame’s Karsen Powers, left, Annie Siebert and coach Renee Peters react to a 3-point basket against Sikeston during the fourth quarter of their Class 4 District 1 semifinal Thursday at Central High School. Notre Dame won 59-23. (Fred Lynch)

Notre Dame (21-2), ranked ninth in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association's final regular-season poll, was never really in trouble against Sikeston (14-13), jumping to a 15-2 lead after one period and leading 30-12 at the half. But the Bulldogs never really took advantage in a first half that saw them consistently break Sikeston's press while, defensively, creating 18 turnovers.

"The second half, we said we've got to run the floor a little better," Peters said. "It's one thing to break their press, it's another thing to score off it. And we weren't really doing that. And we didn't shoot the ball real well tonight, I don't think -- the first half especially."

But Notre Dame quickly put the game away in the third period. After Sikeston scored the first basket of the second half, Notre Dame went on a 12-0 run that pushed its lead to 42-14 on the way to a 48-16 lead heading into the fourth quarter, which featured a running clock throughout.

"I think the nerves and everything were catching up to us," said Notre Dame senior Annie Siebert, who finished with 12 points. "We just needed to calm down, play smart, relax, settle down. We were just going, going, going, making crazy passes. And I think we settled down. ... That second half was a big deal to give us confidence [going into tonight's game]."

Sikeston coach Matt Schonhoff lamented some early shots that failed to fall for his squad and led to the early deficit.

Notre Dame’s Halle Lynch drives to the basket against Sikeston’s Alana Basham during the third quarter of their Class 4 District 1 semifinal game at Central High School.

"It seemed like every loose ball, they were able to get," Schonhoff said. "And we were on our back foot. They were able to get some easy stuff. And every shot we were able to get, it rimmed out or bounced out or something like that to where we could not stay in the flow of the basketball game. I thought in the second quarter we did a lot better, but obviously we came out at halftime really flat, and Notre Dame took over."

Notre Dame made a defensive change that didn't allow Sikeston sophomore forward Erica Peet (9 points) the same good looks she got in the first half.

"We knew going into this that they were more of a perimeter team," Peters said. "They do like to penetrate and get that little jump shot inside. We held them to two points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, it was like 15 points all of a sudden because they were taking advantage of that inside. In the second half we came out and made the adjustments."

For Notre Dame senior guard Shelby Beussink, who led all scorers with 15 points, tonight's game against Dexter, ranked sixth in Class 4, can't come soon enough. Dexter bounced Notre Dame from the postseason tournament a year ago in a closely contested battle, and also dealt the Bulldogs a six-point loss earlier this season on Notre Dame's home court.

"We can do it," Beussink said. "We've just got to believe in ourselves and our motto: 'Do it anyway.' And believe."

Sikeston 2 10 4 7 -- 23

Notre Dame 15 15 18 11 -- 59

SIKESTON (23) -- Tyra Bonner 2, Mikala Nichols 8, Erica Peet 9, Ariana Beard 3, Alana Basham 2. FG: 9. FT: 5-11. Total fouls: 15. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none.)

NOTRE DAME (59) -- Annie Siebert 12, Kaitlin Welter 6, Karsen Powers 8, Shelby Beussink 15, Taylor Feeney 8, Abigal McAlister 5, Madeline Rosenquist 5. FG: 22. FT: 12-17. Total fouls: 9. (3-pointers: Welter 1, McAlister 1, Rosenquist 1. Fouled out: none.)