Notre Dame overcomes double-digit deficit to win fifth-straight SEMO Conference Tournament championship, Kennett claims third, Cape Central wins consolation bracket

It was a tale of two halves for the Notre Dame Bulldogs on Friday night.

Notre Dame overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Jackson Indians 46-44 in the championship of the SEMO Conference Tournament.

“We just didn’t quit,” Bulldogs coach Kirk Boeller said. “We got done 11 with six minutes to go in the fourth and we had a heck of a comeback.”

For the entirety of the duel between the tournament’s top two seeds, things looked bleak for the Bulldogs.

Despite leading 11-8 after the first quarter, Notre Dame allowed the Indians to win the second quarter 22-8, capped off by a buzzer-beating three from Jackson’s Holland Guilliams, to send the Indians into halftime with a 30-19 lead.

“We simply got outplayed and out hustled in the first half,” Boeller said. “The girls just came out in the second half with a different mindset.”

Both defenses showed out to begin the second half as it was a struggle for both teams to score.

Coming out of the half, Notre Dame’s Neveah Lucious said Boeller made sure the team’s focus was on their defense.

“Our main goal was to pick up our defense,” Lucious said. “We knew we could do it and we knew the best defense was going to win. We knew we really had to pick it up defensively and trust each other.”

Early in the third quarter Notre Dame’s Kate Rubel picked up her fourth foul of the contest, forcing Boeller to go to his bench to preserve Rubel.

Just minutes later, things got even tougher for the Bulldogs as Lucious picked up her fourth foul, forcing Boeller’s hand once again.

With two of their key players on the bench in foul trouble, the Bulldogs kept the ship afloat, keeping the deficit at 11 heading into the fourth quarter.

As the Bulldog were trailing, Boeller knew he had to let Lucious and Rubel play with the four fouls.

“I trusted them but I was a nervous wreck the whole time,” Boeller said. “They’re smart kids and they know what they can and can’t get away with. They both know how to defend so we trusted they wouldn’t get in trouble.”

The Bulldogs began chipping away at the Indians lead and with Jackson leading 40-38 late, Brie Rubel knocked down a three to give the Bulldogs a 41-40 lead.

“I was just really hoping I was going to make it,” Rubel said.

Rubel led the Bulldogs in scoring with 11 points and said her motivation in the second half was to put her first half performance behind her.

“It definitely wasn’t my best performance in the first half,” Rubel said. “I just told myself I was going to come out and do a lot better.”

Boeller had high praise for Rubel and the three she hit to give them the lead.

“That was big for her,” Boeller said. “When that shot went in there was a different feeling on our bench.”

Rubel’s three was a catalyst for the Bulldogs as they would hold on to win 46-44, making it five-straight conference tournament titles.

When asked if the feeling of winning the conference tournament ever gets old, Boeller’s answer was quick and to the point.

“Nope,” He smiled.

Following up Rubel’s 11-point night was Lucious with 9 points, Kate Rubel with 8 points, Skylar Craft with 7 points and Mia Panton with 6 points.

Jackson was led by Guilliams who had a game-high 15 points on five threes with all of them coming in the first half.

Also contributing for Jackson was Lillie Cole and Brooke Balsman with 7 points each in the loss.

Jackson (3-1) will look to get back in the win column at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, when the Indians host Farmington at Jackson High School.

Notre Dame (3-0) has some time off before returning to action at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11, when it travels to take on Chaffee at Chaffee High School.

__Third Place: Kennett 55, Dexter 48__

The Kennett Indians claimed third-place in the SEMO Conference Tournament with a deliberate effort from the beginning.

The Indians used their speed and athleticism to sneak by the Bearcats on Friday.

After a relatively low scoring first quarter saw the Indians leading 9-5 after one, the offense got going to send Kennett into the locker room at halftime with a 24-17 lead.

Despite trailing at halftime, the Bearcats kept the game close throughout the second half, trailing by six heading into the fourth quarter.

Kennett would hang on to emerge victorious and claim third place in the tournament.

Leading the way offensively for Kennett was Alyce Edwards with a 29-point outburst in the win.

Also contributing was E’Marriha Johnson with 11 points and Tayja Carter with 5 points.

For Dexter, the Bearcats were led by Kate Nichols with 19 points and Klaire Essner with 16 points.

Dexter (1-2) returns to the court for its home opener at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, when the Bearcats host New Madrid County Central.

Kennett (2-1) hits the road at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, when the Indians battle Senath-Hornersville.

__Consolation Final: Cape Central 45, Saxony Lutheran 42__

Meeting for the second time in 11 days, the Cape Central Tigers got revenge on the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders to claim the consolation championship in the SEMO Conference Tournament.

The first-half of the contest nearly mirrored the first meeting between the two teams as Cape Central held a 28-22 lead at the half.

But, the Crusaders wouldn’t be deterred as Crusaders coach Chris Crawford deployed his full court pressure that turned the Tigers over, allowing Saxony Lutheran to stay with the Tigers.

Cape Central held onto a 35-29 lead after three quarters of play.

Despite the pressure, the Crusaders never led in the second half of the contest as the Tigers did just enough to escape with a win.

Despite the win, the Tigers gave the Crusaders multiple opportunities down the stretch to take control of the game.

For every mistake the Tigers made, the Crusaders either gave the ball right back or the Tigers defense forced a turnover to cover up their mistake.

Offensively, the Tigers were led by Emani Summers who had 17 points and Abigail Davenport with 16 points.

Also contributing was Gracyn Morris with 7 and Sa’Mya Torres with 4 points.

On the opposing side it was Evie Caruso leading the Crusaders with 17 points. Abigail Haley and Camille Richey also reached double digits with 11 points and 10 points respectively.

Saxony Lutheran (2-2) is back in action at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, when they host the St. Vincent Indians at Saxony Lutheran High School.

Cape Central (2-2) will hit the road at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, when the Tigers take on Naylor.