Notre Dame girls cruise to district crown

DEXTER, Mo. -- Notre Dame figured out a way to top its previous defensive effort.

The Bulldogs didn't allow a field goal in the first quarter of their semifinal win against Ste. Genevieve on Thursday. Their encore was a scoreless first quarter by Dexter in Friday's Class 4 District 1 title game.

"Those are things that you dream about," Notre Dame coach Renee Peters said. "We're a better team when we start off on fire. But to hold them scoreless in the first quarter, that was crazy."

The Bulldogs sailed from there to the district championship with a 65-31 victory over the Bearcats. It was Notre Dame's first district title in girls basketball since 2007, Jerry Grim's final season at the helm.

The Bulldogs advanced to Wednesday's sectional round against Farmington. The teams will tip at 6 p.m. at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo.

Notre Dame's Jane Morrill shoots as Dexter's Brittany Harris defends during the third quarter of Friday's Class 4 District 1 title game in Dexter, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

Notre Dame led 16-0 after the first quarter and pushed its lead to 21-0 before Dexter finally scored with 6 minutes, 50 seconds left in the second quarter. Nine of Dexter's first 10 possessions in the game ended in a turnover. The Bearcats finished with 27 turnovers in a rematch of last year's district title game, which Dexter won 63-54.

"We wanted to establish that we were here to play and win," Notre Dame senior Meghan Dohogne said about her team's fast start.

Notre Dame's offense established the tempo early. The Bulldogs (23-4) used quick passes to find open players under the basket for easy layups.

"We're not a selfish team," Notre Dame junior Allyson Bradshaw said. "If it's open, we're going to give it to the other person. We want to make it as easy as possible to get the easy bucket."

Dohogne was on the receiving end of many of the passes to get open looks. She scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half. Sophomore Brooke Bohnert also helped spark the offense by hitting all four of her shots from the field in the first half.

Notre Dame's Nicole Blattel attempts to pass as Dexter's Shelbie Hessling defends during Friday's game.

"I think we move the ball very well," Bohnert said. "I think we pass until we have an open look."

One of the Bulldogs' weapons is the bounce pass. They often employ it in the post to get the ball around a tall defender and into the hands of an open teammate.

"A lot of teams are bigger than we are or just as big so you can't really pass over the top," said Dohogne, who pulled down 10 rebounds. "Our coach tells us that pass isn't going to be there, so you've just got to bounce pass it."

Notre Dame's efficient offense connected on 52 percent (16 of 31) of its shots in the opening half to build a 39-15 lead at the break.

The Bulldogs didn't let up in the second half. Jane Morrill, who already signed to play at Arkansas State next season, took over after the intermission. She was limited to four points on 2-of-5 shooting in the first half but scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting after halftime.

Notre Dame's Katherine Blasiney has her shot foiled by Dexter's Abbie Warren during the second quarter of the Class 4 District 1 championship Friday at Dexter. (Fred Lynch)

"We know we have to spread the ball around," Peters said. "We have to have balanced scoring. Otherwise teams are going to double down on Jane Morrill most of the time. When they've done that this year, we've been able to balance the scoring."

Bradshaw did a little of everything for the Bulldogs. She dished out eight assists and scored a game-high 17 points.

"We knew they were going to try to double-team Allyson, but by keeping the ball moving, it's hard to double-team anybody," Peters said.

The Bulldogs improved to 23-4 and feel battle-tested as they prepare for the sectional round. Notre Dame beefed up its schedule with games against state-ranked Class 5 schools like Incarnate Word and St. Joseph's Academy earlier this season.

"When we come to pressure situations, whenever they're closer games and playing the tougher teams, it helps a lot with the environment," Bradshaw said of her team's challenging schedule. "It gets us ready to play."

The Bulldogs now turn their attention to Farmington (21-5) in the sectional round. The Black Knights beat Notre Dame 53-50 at Notre Dame on Jan. 11, but Morrill was injured during that game. Farmington advanced to the sectional round with a 61-25 victory over North County on Friday.

Dexter 0 15 13 3 -- 31

Notre Dame 16 23 22 4 -- 65

DEXTER (31) -- Shelby Hessling 7, Brittany Harris 9, Abbie Warren 15. FG 12, FT 6-9, F 6. (3-pointers: Harris 1. Fouled out: none)

NOTRE DAME (65) -- Allyson Bradshaw 17, Brooke Bohnert 8, Meghan Dohogne 12, Jane Morrill 16, Katherine Blasiney 6, Summer Burger 6. FG 28, FT 5-10, F 13. (3-pointers: Bradshaw 3, Blasiney 1. Fouled out: none)