Notre Dame seniors shine on senior night

Notre Dame seniors Anna Garner and Tori Rubel led the Bulldogs to a big 53-46 win over the Delta Bobcats on Monday at Notre Dame Regional High School.

Rubel posted a near triple-double with 12 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists while Garner had 12 points on 50% shooting.

Garner impacted the game with her points and anchored the Bulldogs' offense and defense by making winning plays when it counted.

“She sets the tone for our basketball team,” Bulldogs coach Kirk Boeller said. “I said during the Christmas Tournament that she’s the heartbeat, and I stand by that. When she goes, we go.”

Garner said the encouragement from her coaches and teammates gives her confidence.

“Sometimes I second guess myself,” Garner said. “It really means a lot.”

Both teams struggled to take the lid off the basket early on as Notre Dame led 3-2 after the first quarter of action.

The offense began to come in the second quarter as the Bulldogs took a 20-18 lead into halftime.

Delta stayed relentless as Notre Dame wasn’t able to distance themselves and the Bulldogs held a 33-30 lead heading into the final frame.

A 16-3 burst to start the fourth quarter was capped off by back-to-back threes from Brie and Tori Rubel.

“That’s what we’ve done all year, just play hard, play hard, play hard,” Boeller said. “We knew at some point that the floodwall would break open and we went on a little bit of a run there.”

With both Rubel and Garner being honored pregame as a part of senior night, Boeller said the win was “special”.

“We honored two seniors that I love to death and those two deserve a night just for them,” Boeller said. “The way we played tonight was a tribute to everything they’ve done for the program. I’m proud of the team and I’m proud of those two seniors.”

The senior night festivities only added to the anticipation of the matchup that featured two of the top teams in the area.

“I think we had a locker room full of people who weren’t going to quit on Anna and Tori,” Boeller said.

Garner and the Bulldogs are excited to continue building off the win on Monday.

“This is just the beginning,” Garner said. “We have a whole season and postseason ahead.”

Boeller said they’ll enjoy the win tonight, but it’s right back to work tomorrow.

“Tomorrow we focus on the next game,” Boeller said. “That’s the only one that matters.”

Kate Rubel led the way with 13 points, Tori Rubel and Anna Garner had 12 points and Nevaeh Lucious had 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Jade Berry and Addison Nichols led the charge for Delta, who both had 15 points, while Presley Holweg followed up with 14 points as well.

Delta will have some time off before resuming play on Monday, Jan. 16 when the Bobcats travel to take on New Madrid County Central at 7:30 p.m.

Notre Dame will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 12 when the Bulldogs travel to take on Sikeston at 7:30 p.m.