CALIFORNIA — Hours removed from seeing their Dutchmen basketball counterparts win a district title for the first time since 1996, John VanLeer’s Owensville Dutchgirl basketball team looked to win their second consecutive title taking on California’s Lady Pintos in the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 4, District 9 Girls Basketball Tournament title game at California High School.

Trailing 30-23 at the 4:52 mark of the third quarter, Camryn Caldwell and Brynn Wright combined to score Owensville’s next 10 points giving them a 33-32 at the :36 mark of the quarter.

After a Kierstyn Lawson free throw tied the game at 33-33 seconds later, Dutchgirl senior Ali Daniels calmly knocked down a pair of free throws at the 4.8 mark of the quarter putting the orange and black in front 35-33.

Seeing both teams trade buckets to open the fourth quarter, Owensville ended the game on a 12-0 run cementing their second straight district title with a 49-35 victory over the host Lady Pintos.

This also marked the first time in Owensville High School (OHS) history that both the Dutchmen and Dutchgirl basketball teams won district titles in the same season.

“It’s really cool for the entire community and basketball programs as a whole to get two district titles in the same year,” Dutchmen head basketball coach Cullen VanLeer said.

Down 4-0 early on a pair of Kinsley Lawson buckets, Caldwell splashed home a pair of 3-point shots giving the Dutchgirls their first lead of the game at 6-5 with 4:13 for the opening quarter.

“We kept shooting and playing hard on the defensive end of the floor,” Caldwell said.

Battling through five lead changes and four ties, Owensville and California ended the first eight minutes in a 13-13 deadlock.

Similar to the first quarter, the Lady Pintos got 3-pointers from Kinsley Lawson and Peyton Dunham leaving the Dutch

girls trailing 19-13 with 6:07 until halftime.

A Wright 3-pointer and back-to-back Ali Daniels buckets helped OHS pull back within a point at 21-20 with 2:12 for the first half.

Caldwell’s third 3-pointer of the first half tied the game at 23-23 with :50 for the second quarter before a Emily Burger free throw left OHS trailing 24-23 at halftime.

“I told them at halftime that this was a physical game and that they’re going to let us decide it on the floor,” Dutchgirl head basketball coach John VanLeer said.

OHS was paced by Caldwell’s nine first-half points while California was led by Kinley Lawson with eight first-half points.

3-point makes from Dunham and Kierstyn Lawson gave the Lady Pintos a 30-23 lead with 4:52 from the third quarter.

Caldwell and Wright answered with 3-point buckets of their own to get Dutchgirl back within three points at 32-29 with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter.

Later in the quarter, a Caldwell basket at the 2:17 mark and a Wright score with :36 for the third gave Owensville their first lead at 33-32 since their last advantage of 13-11 with 1:29 for the first quarter.

They never trailed again after that.

Daniels and Wright scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter for the Dutchgirls before a Lainey Moss free throw with 54.8 remaining punctuated the scoring on OHS’ second district title in as many years.

“Our girls toughened up in the second half and I think our conditioning, our toughness and the dog we have in all of our girls was the difference in the game,” John VanLeer said.

Daniels led three Dutchgirls in double figures finishing with a double double of 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

“It was rough for tip to finish,” Daniels said. “Four of our five seniors are starters and we’ve played together with each other since the first time we picked up a basketball. It’s bittersweet being able to get another district championship with those four.”

Wright followed closely behind with 16 points and eight rebounds.

“It feels like I finally earned it,” Wright said. “I felt like I was a part of the team last year but this year I was able to contribute on the court.”

Batting various injuries throughout her high school career, Wright has finally gotten that monkey off her back and been able to enjoy her senior year thus far.

Caldwell rounded out the double-digit Dutchgirl trio with 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals.

Cameron Ryerson added a first-quarter 3-pointer for three points while Moss dished out a team-high four assists to go with her aforementioned fourth-quarter free throw.

Cameron Nowack contributed three rebounds and two blocked shots in spite of seeing limited shot opportunities.

“We just wanted it more,” Nowack said. “I wasn’t done playing. I wasn’t ready for it to end. I really tried to lock down on defense and trust my teammates to come in for me when I was tired.

Kinley Lawson led California with eight points followed closely by Hailey Rademann who added seven points and nine rebounds.

Dutchgirls vs. Southern Boone

Earning a bye to the district semifinals as the top seed, Owensville’s Dutchgirls opened their portion of the tournament against the Southern Boone Lady Eagles.

Doubling up the Lady Eagles 12-6 after one quarter, VanLeer’s Dutchgirls doubled their lead going into halftime by a score of 23-11 before holding Southern Boone to 17 second-half points during their 53-28 victory.

Trailing 6-3 at the 5:16 mark of the first quarter, Nowack hit a pair of free throws to spark a 9-0 run ending the opening eight minutes with Owensville on top 12-6.

Daniels then scored five points in :45 bumping the Dutchgirl lead into double digits at 17-6 with 7:15 until halftime.

Holding Southern Boone to five second-quarter points, Owensville kept their lead in double digits going into the locker room 23-11 at halftime.

Pacing the Dutchgirls was Daniels with 10 first-half points while Gracie Britton led the Lady Eagles with nine first-half points.

Seeing Southern Boone get back within single digits at 23-15 with 6:36 for the third quarter, Owensville turned up the offensive fire power with a 17-5 run to enter the fourth quarter with a 40-20 lead.

Opening the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run, Owensville put the game out of reach before advancing to the district championship game.

Daniels and Wright shared game-high scoring honors with 14 points apiece.

Also grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds, Wright finished with a double double.

Caldwell and Nowack each added seven points.

Moss also racked up six points and seven rebounds.

Ryerson kicked in three points and four rebounds to go along with two points from Cylee Reed in the fourth quarter.

Britton led Southern Boone with 14 points and four rebounds.