Notre Dame rides unlikely run into state semifinal

The Notre Dame girls basketball team will make its fifth final four appearance today, but no Bulldog team has reached Columbia as dramatically and with so much momentum as this one.

Utilizing a Houdini act in the quarterfinals for its 16th straight victory, Notre Dame will face Carthage in today's state semifinals at the Hearnes Center.

Thanks to a Sommer McCauley 3-pointer at the final gun of regulation, Notre Dame completed a six-point comeback in the final 45 seconds to force overtime before defeating Lutheran South 72-68 Saturday night.

"The other night was so scary," senior Ali Tyson said. "I was so scared. But it was awesome. It was an unbelievable game. We just didn't give up."

"I still can't believe it," McCauley said. "We're just going to go up there and work hard. We don't know what to expect. We just have to be ready."

The dramatic win gives Notre Dame (21-7) the team-of-destiny look.

"It's meant to be that we're supposed to go," Tyson said. "I think we're going to do well up there. I don't know how the other teams are, but as a whole, we're a really good team."

Ashley Millham, who averages 20.3 points per game, is among three Bulldog seniors -- all starters -- who saw their high school careers extended with McCauley's shot.

"We got a break I guess on Saturday," Millham said. "But we're hoping to pull off a couple more wins."

The Bulldog seniors are making their third straight trip to the state tournament. After finishing second in Class 2 in 2001, the Bulldogs carried high expectations last season with all five starters returning. Notre Dame handled the accompanying pressures by winning its first state championship.

After the graduation of three key players, this year's team didn't carry the lofty expectations of last season. The Bulldogs lost their first three games this year and stood 5-7 after a loss Jan. 9 to Anna-Jonesboro (Ill.). They haven't lost since.

The external expectations going into the playoffs was not high on the Bulldogs, and the unlikely win over Lutheran South could make the team feel even less pressure this weekend. But the players don't seem to be embracing a carefree attitude.

"Any time a team goes up to the final four, there's going to be pressure on them," Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim said.

Being there doesn't appear quite satisfying enough for a team that went the distance last year.

"We're there to do a job and win state," Millham said. "That's what everybody else is going up there for and what we're going up there for."

Millham said she doesn't see much difference between the expectations last year and this year.

"I think last year it was internal pressure too," she said. "It was us wanting to do it, not for people telling us we're supposed to. It's the same this year."

While Notre Dame is battle tested, Carthage won its first district title this year. Led by senior guard Katie Wooldridge and senior point guard Tara Waggoner -- the only two who average in double figures -- the Tigers have since knocked off Branson and Bolivar in the playoffs.

"I think their state experience has to be an advantage," Carthage coach Bobby Waggoner said. "Being used to that atmosphere and playing on the court and all the hoopla. We're still all caught up in it."

Grim said Carthage is a more post-oriented team than Lutheran South, which featured a more slashing style with a group of dangerous outside shooters. It remains to be seen if the Tigers can play an up-tempo style with Notre Dame like the Lancers did.

"I think we could have a little problem with their team speed and their pressure, but we've overcome a lot of obstacles this year," Waggoner said.

Playing in the other semifinal game will be Benton (21-8) and Duchesne (27-2), seen as the team to beat.

"Without a doubt they're the favorite," Grim said of Duchesne. "But I'm not saying anybody up there can't be beat, that's including us."

jbreer@semissourian.com

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