Notre Dame girls fall short as Bulldogs drop sectional brawl in Park Hills

After knocking off one of the top teams in Class 4 just three days prior, Notre Dame took the stage in a harsh environment at Park Hills Central in a feisty sectional.

A back-and-forth defensive duel saw countless fouls, missed shots and emotions run high. But when Notre Dame cut its deficit to two in the third quarter, the Rebels locked in and iced out the Bulldogs, winning 44-39.

Facing off with yet another top-10 team in the class that had placed third just a year prior, the Bulldogs showed they had the grit to stay in the game; the shots just didn’t fall.

“All credit to Park Hills,” veteran Notre Dame coach Kirk Boeller said. “They came out, punched us in the mouth at tip-off and never looked back.

“I was proud of how our girls responded there, coming out of halftime and competing a lot harder.”

Putting an end to a season filled with strife that’s been heavily dissected and analyzed by those outside the team, Notre Dame certainly exceeded expectations down the stretch.

Downing the top-ranked team in Class 4 before dropping a brutal slugfest against one of the state’s preseason powerhouses, the Bulldogs activated their lessons learned from a fierce schedule this year.

Though the shots didn’t fall, Boeller understood the promise that Monday’s contest brought to the table despite taking a crushing loss against a beatable foe.

“We battled-tested ourselves,” Boeller said. “The schedule we played this year, I’d put it up against anybody in the state.

“We played the best of the best, and with that, there's going to come adversity. We do it to make a run in the postseason.”

That schedule prepared them for the toughest foes they’d face, and it showed in Monday night’s loss.

Despite playing one of their worst games of the season by some’s standards, it took four quarters to put away Notre Dame for Park Hills Central.

Though it’ll go down as a loss, it should be worn as a badge of honor for the young Bulldogs who retain their entire roster for next season.

“The sky's the limit for this group of girls,” Boeller said. “I'm excited to have them back next year. I don't graduate anybody.

“We'll do a lot of fun things this summer; take some team-building trips and get ready to roll for their junior and senior years.”

With the loud crowd and dim lighting against them, the Bulldogs fizzled out in the first quarter as Park Hills Central’s home-court advantage jumped out early.

None of Notre Dame’s shots seemed to find home, and the Rebels cleaned up their misses time after time and kicked out to open shooters, much to the student section’s delight.

Despite how rough the first quarter went, the Bulldogs exited trailing just 15-4 as their defense played tougher than they got credit for, largely thanks to the large interior presence of Nevaeh Lucious.

In need of a spark, Kate Rubel provided with two contested lay-ins with the ‘Dawgs down double digits early in the second quarter.

But her scoring wouldn’t be enough, and it showed as Central kept finding responses — until Maddy Erbst drilled a transition triple to bring Notre Dame back into reaching distance.

Ending the first half with a deep Eliza Barnette 2-pointer just before the buzzer, Notre Dame turned a huge early deficit into a manageable 21-16 hole going into the half; you could feel the momentum shift.

That lead jumped in size early in the third quarter, but a slow and steady effort from Lucious.

Her seven points in the third saw Notre Dame close the gap to two in the final minute and carry a 30-26 deficit into the fourth.

The momentum didn’t follow it into the fourth, however, as the Bulldogs racked up some fouls quickly and couldn’t continue to run with the Rebels as they just poured it on.

Entering the bonus early, Park Hills Central lived at the line for the final four minutes and, eventually, came up with enough points to finally put the visitors away in a rowdy sectional fight.

Coming away with the 44-39 victory, the Rebels’ student section and fanbase gave one last roar for their girls as they advanced to a big quarterfinal, while the emotion set in for Notre Dame.

Sophomore Kate Rubel led the Bulldogs with 14 points scored in the loss, while classmate post Nevaeh Lucious’ 10 followed close behind her after a big third quarter.

Khloe Dischbein led the Rebels in the victory, scoring an impressive 20 of their 44 points to push Park Hills Central out of danger after a 9-point fourth quarter.