Gasconade County Republican

Emily Ellis (above, left) battles for a loose ball with a St. Clair Lady Bulldog Monday during the first game of the Class 4, District 9 Girls Basketball Tournament being played at Union High School. Owensville won the game, 41-26 and will face Borgia tonight (Wednesday) at 6 p.m.UNION — Entering their MSHSAA Class 4, District 9 Tournament opener against St. Clair Monday night, revenge was at the top of the minds of Dwayne Clingman’s Dutchgirls.

Racing out to an 11-3 lead after one quarter, Owensville led from start to finish en route to a 41-26 victory over the Lady Bulldogs after falling to St. Clair in double overtime last Tuesday, 88-81.

Shutting down St. Clair’s perimeter attack, the Dutchgirls clamped down on defense holding the Lady Bulldogs to just three first-quarter points.

Continuing to crash the boards in the second quarter, Owensville edged St. Clair on the scoreboard 8-7 to take a 19-10 lead into halftime and quiet a rowdy Bulldog student section.

Opening the second half on a 9-0 run, the Dutchgirls got points from seniors Lauren Hendrickson, Hannah Roach, Kati Davis and Kim Buddemeyer to help them to a 28-10 lead at the 3:25 mark of the third quarter.

Another bucket from freshman Emily Ellis gave the Dutchgirls a 30-16 lead with one quarter standing between them and revenge for their earlier loss to St. Clair.

A 9-2 run at the start of the fourth quarter helped Owensville advance to the district semifinals and another shot at Borgia’s Lady Knights tonight (Wednesday).

“This was a good win for us tonight after giving up 88 points against St. Clair the last time we played them,” Dutchgirl head coach Dwayne Clingman said. “I really want to thank all of the parents and fans for their positive support tonight and throughout the entire season.”

Looking to get even for a 49-37 loss to the Lady Knights before the Hermann Tournament, Owensville will tip off against Borgia at 6 p.m., tonight (Wednesday) at Union High School.

Josh Vinyard’s Dutchmen opened their Class 4, District 9 Boys Tournament last night (Tuesday) against Salem’s Tigers. A recap of both the Dutchmen and Dutchgirls in district action at Union can be seen in next weeks edition of The Gasconade County Republican.