Dutchgirls claim third-place hardware

Will Johnson, Sports Editor
Posted 1/16/19

MOKANE — Falling 65-48 to Hermann in the semifinals at the South Callaway Girls Basketball Tournament last Wednesday night, Ryan Flanagan’s Dutchgirls had just 24 hours to prepare for …

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Dutchgirls claim third-place hardware

Posted

MOKANE — Falling 65-48 to Hermann in the semifinals at the South Callaway Girls Basketball Tournament last Wednesday night, Ryan Flanagan’s Dutchgirls had just 24 hours to prepare for their third-place showdown with Russellville’s Lady Indians thanks to the impending weekend snowstorm.

Nonetheless, Owensville used a 19-5 run concluding the first quarter helping them gradually pull away for an 80-51 victory securing third-place hardware.

Down 9-2 at the 6:20 mark of the opening quarter, OHS began to chip away thank to an Ella Wright bucket with 5:45 for the first period.

Catching fire from 3-point land, consecutive 3-balls from Liana Miller, Anna Skornia and Stephani Elliott along with an old-fashioned 3-point play from Breanna Diestelkamp gave Owensville a 13-12 lead at the midway point of the opening quarter.

Behind seven more points from Diestelkamp, the Dutchgirls ended the first quarter with a 23-16 lead.

Scoring seven of Owensville’s 13 second-quarter points, Miller helped the Dutchgirls to a 36-30 halftime lead.

Three Dutchgirls posted double-digit scoring numbers in the first half led by 11 from Diestelkamp along with 10 each from Skornia and Miller.

Seeing their lead cut to four to open the second half, Flanagan’s Dutchgirls quickly answered with a 10-0 run started by a Miller 3-pointer.

Ended by a Diestelkamp free throw, OHS pushed their lead into double digits 46-32 at the 3:25 mark of the third quarter.

Outscoring the Lady Indians 9-5 the rest of the third quarter, Owensville found themselves leading Russellville 55-37 with eight minutes of basketball standing between them and third-place hardware.

Gradually adding to their lead the rest of the game, OHS saw seven different players land in the scoring column during the fourth quarter.

Led by six points from Diestelkamp, Owensville also got fourth-quarter scoring from Wright (5), Miller (4), Anna Finley (3), Keira Hendrix (3), Elliott (2) and Skornia (2).

Leading three Dutchgirls in double figures, Diestelkamp finished with an impressive stat line of 26 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots. Miller added 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Diestelkamp was named the South Callaway Girls Basketball Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) following the game.

As if that were not enough, she was also named KLPW’s Athlete of the Week. KLPW is a radio station based out of Washington that covers high school sports throughout the area. 

Skornia nearly joined Diestelkamp in the double double club with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Wright added seven markers followed by five each from Finley and Elliott. Finley also added six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Dutchgirl victory over Russellville.

Hendrix (3) and Kate Angell (2) rounded out the Owensville scoring against Russellville.

In their 65-48 semifinal loss against Hermann last Wednesday night at South Callaway, Diestelkamp finished with 22 points followed in double figures by Finley with 11 and Miller with 10.

In opening-round action last Monday, the Dutchgirls had revenge from last year on their minds facing Montgomery County’s Lady Wildcats.

In last year’s seventh-place game, Owensville dropped a 57-55 heartbreaker that saw Diestelkamp drop 40 points.

Trailing the majority of the first three quarters, the Dutchgirls more-than-tripled Montgomery County 19-6 in the final eight minutes to post a 67-54 victory.

Down 3-0 in the opening seconds, OHS scored the next seven points on a Wright basket and 3-pointer along with two Miller free throws for a 7-3 lead at the 6:17 mark of the opening quarter.

Scoring 11 of Owensville’s next 14 points, Diestelkamp helped her Dutchgirl team to a 21-17 lead after one quarter in yet another showdown of Highway 19 foes.

Running the show at the point, Finley dished out four assists in the first eight minutes for Flanagan’s Dutchgirls.

Outscored 17-10 in the second quarter, Owensville went into halftime trailing the Lady Wildcats 34-31.

Navigating nine lead changes and three ties to start the second half, the Dutchgirls edged Montgomery County 15-14 in the third quarter to enter the fourth trailing by just two points, 48-46.

Aside from two Skornia free throws, Diestelkamp (11) and Finley (2) accounted for the rest of the third-quarter scoring.

Going 18-23 from the free-throw line in the final eight minutes, Owensville was able to erase the painful memory of last year’s seventh-place game at South Callaway.

Diestelkamp scorched the nets for 31 points against the Lady Wildcats.