St. Vincent girls win in OT for third straight district title

ST. LOUIS -- St. Vincent freshman Courtney Heberlie expected to have one of the best seats in the house for the Class 2 District 5 Basketball Tournament at Crossroads High School -- on the bench.

Heberlie was a key player on an undefeated junior varsity team and was brought up to the varsity for the district tournament.

She had a cameo appearance in the first-round blowout against Wellston and did not make the floor in a semifinal victory against O'Fallon Christian.

But with the game and the season on the line Friday night, Heberlie not only played, but was a key reason that the Indians came away with their third consecutive district championship.

Heberlie finished the game with 10 points, eight of them coming in the fourth quarter and overtime, as the Indians defeated New Haven 39-34 in overtime.

The Indians will play Canton at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday in the Class 2 sectional in Troy. Canton defeated Clopton 59-37 in the championship game of the Class 2 District 6 tournament Friday night.

"I really thought I would be sitting on the bench tonight," Heberlie said. "I got in there and I was nervous. I tried to ease into the game, but I have to admit that I was nervous throughout."

It did not show in her play, as she hit two field goals and a couple of crucial free throws in the fourth quarter of a back-and-forth game. She netted a field goal in overtime that gave St. Vincent a four-point lead, then added a rebound in the final minute.

"New Haven plays a tough man-to-man defense, and I put Courtney in there because she is such a good ballhandler," St. Vincent coach Mary Rozier said. "And she is not afraid to shoot the ball. I had seen her play before and knew that she had good basketball sense."

Heberlie's district minutes were her first with the varsity.

The win was not pretty and it was not easy for the second-seeded Indians. New Haven, which had lost its last six regular season games by a combined 137 points, upset top-seeded Ste. Genevieve Valle in the semifinals on the strength of its defense.

That was the key for the Shamrocks in the first half as they frustrated the Indians. St. Vincent did not have a field goal in the first quarter, and the Indians did not have a basket from a starter until Courtney Besand scored with 7 seconds left in the half. The Indians missed all four of their free throws in the second quarter, but only trailed 10-9 at halftime.

The third quarter featured six lead changes, with neither team leading by more than three points. St. Vincent again trailed by a point, 20-19, going into the fourth quarter, but moved ahead 26-20 with less than 4 minutes to go.

New Haven sophomore Julie Scheer then reeled off seven points to give the Shamrocks the lead with 2 minutes left.

The game eventually went into overtime and St. Vincent grabbed the lead on baskets by Amanda Wengert and Heberlie.

Whitney Smith provided New Haven's only points in the 4-minute overtime with a pair of free throws with 1:03 to play.

Kali Wingerter hit a free throw and Besand put an exclamation point on the district title with a lay-up at the buzzer.

"I don't like them that close," Rozier said. "They played that tough man defense and we just couldn't get on the same page for a long time. It was a big-time struggle, but the girls showed perseverance and determination."

St. Vincent lost in the sectional round the last two seasons.

Besand, who had 28 points in a semifinal win over O'Fallon Christian, had 15 to lead all scorers.

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:New Haven648142--34

St. Vincent368157--39

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld: New Haven (34) -- Miranda Poe 9, Kayla Oetterer 8, Julie Scheer 7, Whitney Smith 6, Erin Grannemann 2, Alexis Bochting 2. FG 13, FT 8-17, F 19, (3-pointers: none, Fouled out: none)

St. Vincent (39) -- Courtney Besand 15, Courtney Heberlie 10, Chelsie Boxdorfer 5, Amanda Wengert 4, Kali Wingerter 3, Lindsey Wehmeyer 2. FG 14, FT 10-19, F 15. (3-pointers: Boxdorfer, Fouled out: Boxdorfer)