AURORA — A happy bus ride home.

That was the goal Friday night for John VanLeer’s Owensville Dutchgirl basketball team and two pep buses full of fans following Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 4 Girls Quarterfinal action between the host Aurora Lady Houns (Dawgs) and visiting Dutchgirls.

Trailing 22-15 at the 6:18 mark of the third quarter, junior guard Camryn Caldwell canned a 3-pointer that started a 17-0 Owensville run giving them a 32-22 lead with eight minutes standing between them and a trip to the 2024 MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown in Columbia at Mizzou Arena.

Taking their biggest lead of the game at 35-24 on an Emma Daniels bucket with 6:16 left, Owensville survived an 11-3 run by Aurora to punch their ticket to their third final four appearance in school history following a 38-35 road victory in southwest Missouri.

“Our girls fought through plenty of adversity tonight and I’m so proud of them,” VanLeer said. “Our defense was outstanding and we’ll look to keep that trend going next week against Central Park Hills in Columbia.”

Down 2-0 out of the gate, Caldwell hit a 3-pointer giving OHS their first lead of the game at 3-2 with 7:14 for the opening quarter.

Nearly 30 seconds later, Aurora retook the lead leaving the Dutchgirls trailing 11-10 after one quarter.

“We told ourselves we just had to keep playing,” Emma Daniels said. “I’m proud of my teammates for all coming together and helping us become the third Dutchgirl basketball team to reach the final four.”

Trailing 12-10 with 5:32 until halftime, Ali Daniels was fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer.

Nailing all three free throws, Owensville went back on top 13-12.

Emma Daniels then scored with 4:25 for the half giving the Dutchgirls a 15-12 lead and herself 1,500 career points.

“I could not have accomplished this without my teammates over the last four years,” Emma Daniels said.

Seeing Aurora end the half on a 5-0 run, Owensville went into halftime trailing 17-15 against the host Lady Houns.

Scoring the first five points of the second half, Aurora extended their lead to 22-15 with 6:19 for the third quarter.

Following a Dutchgirl timeout, the momentum quickly shifted to OHS’ side.

Caldwell splashed home her third 3-ball of the game cutting the Lady Houns lead to 22-18 at the 5:57 mark of the third quarter.

Consecutive 3-pointers from Ali Daniels and Audrey Quilacio put the Dutchgirls back in front 24-22 with 3:56 for the period.

Not even an Aurora timeout could cool off the Dutchgirls.

Duplicating Emma’s feat in the second quarter, Ali Daniels sank three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot at the 2:32 mark of the third quarter even with a loud and rowdy Aurora student section.

“I have learned to tune things out and pretend it’s another day at practice shooting free throws,” Ali Daniels said.

After those free throws made it 27-22, an Emma Daniels 3-pointer and a Cameron Nowack bucket over the final 1:12 of the third quarter gave Owensville a 32-22 lead entering the fourth quarter from southwest Missouri.

Thanks to an Ali Daniels free throw and an Emma Daniels bucket, OHS had their biggest lead of the night at 35-24 with 6:16 between them and a trip to Columbia.

Seeing Emma Daniels score the final three points for Owensville, it was only fitting she haul in a rebound on Aurora’s last-ditch 3-point shot to force overtime in the closing seconds.

“It still hasn’t sunk in yet that we’re in the final four,” Emma said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling and we couldn’t have done it without all of our fans that made the long trip to see us play tonight.”

Held to two first-half points, Emma Daniels wound up finishing with a team-high 13 markers netting 11 of them in the second half.

Ali Daniels and Caldwell nearly made it three Dutchgirls in double digits finishing with nine points apiece.

Quilacio added five points while Nowack rounded out the Owensville scoring at Aurora with two points.

Ali Daniels grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while Anya Binkhoelter and Caldwell each dished out a team-high three assists.

Kylee Cole led Aurora with a game-high 15 points.

“We played really well against a good Owensville team tonight,” Aurora head coach Jason Cole said. “We had the lead at halftime and early in the third quarter before they got hot on their 17-0 run. I tried using a timeout midway through the third quarter to stop the bleeding but they were able to keep hitting shots to their credit.”

Now onto their third MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown in school history, Owensville will face Central Park Hills’ Lady Rebels tonight (Wednesday) at 6 p.m., in the first of two Class 4 Girls semifinals.

A win would put them in the championship game tomorrow (Thursday) night at 8 p.m., while a loss would send them to tomorrow’s third-place game at 2 p.m., against either Lift for Life Academy Charter or Chillicothe.