Holding Warrenton to just nine points over three quarters of basketball, the Dutchgirls took home the third-place trophy from Hermann with a 53-23 victory.

Kati Miller looks to maneuver around St. Clair defender Courtney Pursley (right) during their semifinal game at Hermann last Wednesday night.

Holding Warrenton scoreless for over a quarter, Owensville took advantage on offense with a 14-2 throughout the second quarter for a 30-16 lead at halftime.

Sophomore Kati Davis led the Dutchgirls with nine first-half points.

Continuing with the defense in the third quarter, Owensville held Warrenton to five points while the Dutchgirls put 13 on the board to take a 43-21 with eight minutes of basketball left.

Not allowing the Lady Warriors to score a field goal in the fourth quarter, the Dutchgirls went on to post a 53-23 win over Warrenton.

“This was a nice tournament for us going 2-1 and collecting more hardware,” Dutchgirl basketball coach Dwayne Clingman said. “Everyone played hard all week and contributed to our success in the tournament.”

Davis led all scorers with a game-high 15 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds, stole two balls and blocked two shots.

Senior Liz Tate added nine points while Hannah Roach and Danielle Soest added eight each.

Roach also dished out six assists and Soest pulled down seven rebounds off the bench.

A tough task awaited the Dutchgirls in the championship semifinals in St. Clair’s Lady Bulldogs.

Jena Carroll’s Bulldogs entered the game ranked seventh in Class 4 in a poll conducted by the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

A 12-0 run to close the first half gave and kept the momentum with St. Clair during their 57-41 victory over the Dutchgirls in the semifinals.

In a tight first quarter, Owensville took their first lead of the game at 10-8 on a Hannah Roach basket with 2:52 left in the first quarter. Seconds later, St. Clair tied it at 10-10 and that was how the first eight minutes of hoops ended.

With three ties and three lead changes over the first three minutes of the second quarter, the Lady Bulldogs took advantage of Davis picking up her third foul with 4:10 remaining in the half.

St. Clair ended the second quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 28-16 lead at halftime.

Tate led the Dutchgirls with six first-half points.

Every time Owensville would cut into their deficit against St. Clair, the Lady Bulldogs had an answer in the third quarter and went into the fourth with a 45-27 lead.

Only able to get as close as 15 in the fourth, the Dutchgirls did not have enough left to knock off their state-ranked opponent as they fell to St. Clair by a final of 57-41.

Leading OHS was Tate with 13 points and Davis also reached double figures with 10. Ashley Wisdom came off the bench to score all nine of her points in the fourth quarter.

Dutchgirl action from Newburg and St. James will be recapped in next weeks Republican.