CHESTERFIELD — Upsetting top-seeded Marquette on their home floor last Wednesday, Ryan Flanagan’s Owensville Dutchgirl basketball team earned a spot in the championship game of the Marquette Varsity Girls Basketball Tournament against the St. Joseph’s Academy (SJA) Angels.

Down 45-35 entering the fourth quarter, OHS outscored the Angels 14-8 but settled for second place in the tournament coming up on the wrong end of a 53-49 final score.

Jumping out to a 23-12 lead after one quarter, the Dutchgirls were paced by Anna Finley with 10 points in the first eight minutes.

After Finley hit a 3-pointer to open the second quarter, Owensville missed their next 16 shots allowing SJA to outscore the Dutchgirls 19-3 leaving OHS trailing 31-26 at halftime.

Edging the Angels 23-22 in the second half, OHS’ fourth-quarter rally came up four points short.

Finley led the Dutchgirls with a team-high 18 points.

She was followed in double figures by sophomore Emma Daniels with 16 points and a team-high four assists.

Camryn Caldwell also dished out four assists in addition to her three points.

Kyla Hendrix added five points followed closely by four points from freshman Ali Daniels.

Pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds, Ali Daniels was also named to the All-Tournament Team at Marquette along with Finley.

Dutchgirls vs. Marquette

Opening the month of December last Wednesday against the host Lady Mustangs at the Marquette Tournament, Owensville’s Dutchgirls were looking to upset the top seed on their home floor and book passage into the championship game.

Trailing 69-67 in the closing seconds of the game, Ali Daniels delivered the biggest shot of her young high school basketball career to date splashing home the game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds left in Owensville’s 70-69 upset of the host Lady Mustangs.

Trailing 37-32 at halftime, Owensville outscored Marquette 20-11 to take a 52-48 lead into the fourth quarter where the younger Daniels delivered the knockout blow.

Overcoming a 42-point performance from Marquette’s Katie Baumgartner, the Dutchgirls answered with three players in double figures.

Drilling four 3-pointers in the third quarter, Caldwell led Owensville with a team-high 19 points.

Ali Daniels netted 10 of her 16 points in the second half followed by Finley who rounded out the double-digit scoring trio for the Dutchgirls with 15 points.

Emma Daniels nearly made it a quartet of double-digit scorers for OHS finishing with eight points.

Keira Hendrix and Kyla Hendrix both added five points in addition to a third-quarter bucket from Ella Gehlert for two points rounding out the Dutchgirl scoring against Marquette.

Finley and Emma Daniels both dished out a team-high five assists for the Dutchgirls against the Lady Mustangs on their home court.

Rebounds were few and far between for the Dutchgirls with Keira Hendrix pulling down a team-high five boards.

In addition to her 16 points, Ali Daniels added four rebounds, four assists and three steals giving her an impressive stat line as a freshman.

Dutchgirls vs Nerinx Hall

First-round action last Monday night quickly turned into a clinic on both sides of the court between the Owensville Dutchgirls and Nerinx Hall Lady Markers.

Blitzing Nerinx Hall 34-4 in the first half, OHS had some people in attendance wondering where the heck Owensville was following their 52-27 first-round victory.

Finley led the Dutchgirls with a game-high 19 points followed by a rare feat for a freshman.

Ali Daniels finished with a double double of 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Lady Markers.

Kyla Hendrix scored eight first-half points nearly making it a trio of double-digit scorers for the Dutchgirls.

Keira Hendrix added three points in addition to pulling down seven rebounds.