Notre Dame girls get tough, lock down Jackson in cross-county road win

Going on the road and into hostile territory, Notre Dame girls basketball proved why it maintains sole possession of first place in the SEMO Conference in a 46-36 win over the Jackson Indians.

While neither team could get a bucket to fall early, the Bulldogs dominated for the majority of the game as they locked down the midcourt and turned the Indians over and into a loss.

Led by a combined 23 points from the center duo of Eliza Barnette (13) and Nevaeh Luscious (10), Notre Dame’s size and strength were more than evident as it locked down the crease.

The Indians played tough, fought back and forth with Notre Dame but simply couldn’t capitalize off the turnovers and misses that they forced over the course of the game.

This is largely thanks to the outstanding defensive effort from the Bulldogs, dominating the interior and leaving the rest to the swift feet of their young guard corps.

“Our overall team defense was phenomenal for four quarters,” Bulldogs coach Kirk Boeller said. “That was that was the difference.

“We were really sloppy on offense, but we were super active defensively, and I think that's what swayed it in our direction.”

It’s been a mixed bag of a season for Notre Dame when faced with adversity, but Thursday night’s swing showed that the Bulldogs have taken a step forward as of late.

When matched up with a Jackson team that can easily swing the door back in your face, Notre Dame played its cards excellently en route to a big win.

“It means we're maturing,” Boeller began. “We're very young, and we’re learning. As the season goes on, we're learning about ourselves.

“With that adversity, to see us respond positively, that's that's a big step for us.”

Jackson mounted a few quick leads, most notably off an and-1 from Holland Guilliams on which she pumped her arms and screamed back toward the team to grab a 5-4 lead early.

But Notre Dame fought tooth and nail to grab the lead back and, by the end of the first, reclaimed a 12-9 lead.

The Bulldogs pulled away in the second quarter, breaking an incessant Jackson press for a couple of uncontested buckets.

Notre Dame stormed out to a 26-17 halftime advantage after a miserable first-half shooting performance from both sides.

Jackson cut the lead to four at the start of the third quarter, but Notre Dame slung back in front by up to 12 later in the quarter as the two alternated small runs before a 36-28 Bulldog lead brought the quarter to an end.

The Indians rallied late, attempting to get back into the game, but Notre Dame never wavered in its dominating presence.

Just when Jackson could garner momentum, the Bulldogs always had a response on the road to an impressive 46-36 victory on the road.

Led by Barnette’s 13, Notre Dame got a highly-balanced scoring effort led next by another 10 from Luscious to go with a couple blocks as she dominated the paint.

Jackson’s Holland Guilliams finished second in the game in scoring, leading the Indians with 12 points off a 3-pointer and a strong driving game. Camryn Alsdorf followed her up with 10 points.