St. Henry knew they had one shot to upset Notre Dame.
Slow it down.
However, the Pandas withstood the Crusaders’ gameplan, securing a 40-25 victory in the St. Elizabeth Healthcare Ninth Region tournament quarterfinals Sunday at Truist Arena.
Trying to avoid a repeat of a 54-21 loss to the Pandas on Feb. 10, St. Henry slowed things down to a snails pace with a score of 10-8 at halftime in favor of Notre Dame.
“We had an attitude practice yesterday,” St. Henry coach Dan Trame said. “They smacked us pretty good during the regular season, 47-11 at halftime. I wasn’t there—I was watching on my computer, and I got more angry with each second. It was a really hard practice, but they responded.”
It was just a matter of time before the Pandas took control.
“I told them to stay the course,” Notre Dame coach Kes Murphy said. “I wasn’t worried about offense. I was more concerned about limiting their possessions. We had to do something to speed them up a bit.”
Once Notre Dame got their opportunities, they capitalized and began to take control of the game.
Those opportunities came in the hands of Emma Holtzapfel, who knocked down three straight shots, including two triples, fueling a 12-2 run by the Pandas in the third quarter.
St. Henry had to speed up in the fourth, after scoring 10 in three quarters they exploded for 15 points, but gave up 18 in the process as they were unable to inch closer.
It’s Notre Dame’s 22nd win of the season and their first region tournament victory in two years.
Sophia Gibson led Notre Dame with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Maya Lawrie contributed a game-high 13 points.
St. Henry’s season ended with a 14-17 record with three seniors on the team. However, they return their leading scorer, sophomore Joey Powers, who finished with nine points in this game.
The Pandas will now face Highlands, the Bluebirds ending Notre Dame’s season last year in the quarterfinals. Wednesday’s tip is set for 8 p.m.
“Last year they ended our season,” Murphy said. “They’re a good team. It just comes down to who makes more shots and who gets more stops. We prepared for this game, but we also had Highlands in mind. I feel like our kids will be ready, and that loss will be in their minds.”
PANDAS 40, CRUSADERS 25
NOTRE DAME — 5-5-12-18 — 40
ST. HENRY — 2-6-2-15 — 25
Scoring
Notre Dame (40) — M. Lawrie 13, Gibson 10, Holtzapfel 8, M. McGraw 3, Eberhard 2, Stallard 2, Burden 1, LaBordeaux-Humphrey 1
St. Henry (25) — Powers 9, Slocum 6, Pieczonka 5, Blackburn 2, Sieg 2, Armbruster 1
Game Stats
Field Goals: Notre Dame 12/32, St. Henry 6/26
3-Pointers: Notre Dame 2/11, St. Henry 3/10
Free Throws: Notre Dame 14/25, St. Henry 10/12
Rebounds: Notre Dame 26, St. Henry 20
Assists: Notre Dame 8, St. Henry 5
Turnovers: Notre Dame 4, St. Henry 14
Steals: Notre Dame 6, St. Henry 2
Blocks: Notre Dame 3, St. Henry 1
Fouls: Notre Dame 10, St. Henry 21
Records: Notre Dame 21-7, St. Henry 14-17