Notre Dame reaches Holiday Classic title game

~ The Top-seeded Bulldogs handed Sparta its first loss of the season

The top-seeded Notre Dame Bulldogs received all they could handle in the first half from fifth-seeded Sparta, Ill., in the first semifinal of the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic at the Show Me Center.

Notre Dame (7-1) pulled away in the second half Tuesday for a 57-32 victory over previously unbeaten Sparta (9-1).

The Bulldogs will play Jackson in today's 7:30 p.m. championship game. Jackson defeated defending champion Farmington 52-37 in the other semifinal.

Notre Dame used a 13-0 run to jump out to a 15-2 lead and led 19-6 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bulldog's defense wreaked havoc.

"We started off playing good defense," Notre Dame coach Renee Peters said. "We mixed up our full-court press with our man. The girls were playing hard. They were on their feet and moving and anticipating and getting easy baskets."

Notre Dame sophomore Brooke Bohnert scored eight points in the 13-0 run on her way to a game-high 21 points.

"If there was an open shot, I tried to take it," Bohnert said. "And I tried to run the floor."

The easy play didn't last long for Notre Dame.

Sparta scored the last three points of the first quarter and the first six of the second quarter to complete a 9-0 run to draw to 19-12.

After Notre Dame's Allyson Bradshaw scored a bucket, Sparta's Rachel Peck drained a 3-pointer to spark a 5-0 run to bring Sparta within 21-17.

"I pulled the press off hoping to save legs, but that took us out of our game," Peters said. "We knew they had some shooters, and that was exploited when they went on their run. We had three or four turnovers in a row, throwing the ball away and giving them second shots. It was a total mental breakdown."

Notre Dame regrouped before Sparta got any closer.

Bohnert made a free throw, Meghan Dohogne scored on a layin, Jane Morrill hit two jumpers and Bohnert scored again to cap a 9-0 run that pushed the lead to 30-17. Peck hit a 3-pointer for Sparta at the buzzer to make it 30-20 at halftime.

Peters knew Sparta was going to be after the Bulldogs. The teams had met in the past three Holiday Classics, with Notre Dame winning all three matchups.

"[Sparta] wanted to get to the championship game," Peters said. "Obviously just because we're seeded one doesn't mean we are going to make it to that game. In the second we put the press back on and started to move our feet a little. We had to step up and play our game, and we did."

Notre Dame struck quickly in the second half, scoring the first six points and extending its lead to 36-20.

Notre Dame took a 42-25 lead into the fourth quarter, and from that point Bohnert dampened any hopes of a comeback by Sparta.

Sparta scored the first basket of the fourth to make it 42-27, but Bohnert answered with a layin. Sparta scored again, only to see Bohnert push the lead to 48-29 with a pair of baskets.

"She's scrappy and tenacious and she never quits" Peters said of Bohnert. "If she misses a shot, she's right there for her put back. She finds a way to score, and I'm grateful for that."

Dohogne added 11 points for Notre Dame, while Morrill and Bradshaw each had nine.

Beck led Sparta with 15 points and Jessica Robinson had 11.

Notre Dame 19 11 12 15 -- 57

Sparta 6 14 5 7 -- 32

NOTRE DAME (57) -- Brooke Bohnert 21, Meghan Dohogne 11, Jane Morrill 9, Allyson Bradshaw 9, Katherine Blasiney 3, Madison Huckstep 2, Lacey Boeller 2. FG 25, FT 6-12, F 12. (3-pointers: Bradshaw. Fouled out: none.)

SPARTA (32) -- Rachel Peck 15, Jessica Robinson 11, Kordelia Claybourn 3, Megan Meyerhoff 2. FG 12, FT 5-12, F 14. (3-pointers: Peck 3. Fouled out: none.)