Dropping a pair of close games against Fatima and Salem (63-57 in OT) to open their season during the last week of November, Ryan Flanagan’s Owensville varsity Dutchgirls looked to kick off December on a wining note Monday night against Steelville’s Lady Cardinals.

Played over at Owensville Elementary School due to their Dutchmen counterparts also hosting Missouri Military Academy (MMA) at OHS Monday night, the Dutchgirls made the third time a charm.

Doubling up the visitors out of the Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) 30-15 in the first half, the Dutchgirls held off a fourth-quarter rally to the tune of a 50-38 victory.

“Steelville came out flat out of the gate and we played really well defensively on them,” Flanagan said.

One double double was recorded on the night with a near occurrence of a triple double.

University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) bound Dutchgirl senior Breanna Diestelkamp showed the way for the OHS offense with a double double of 18 points and 17 rebounds.

“Breanna (Diestelkamp) really started to finish around the rim the way she’s capable of,” Flanagan said.

Freshman point guard Anna Finley nearly amassed a triple double just three games into her Dutchgirl basketball career.

Nearly joining Diestelkamp in double digits with nine points, Finley added 10 rebounds and seven assists to her impressive stat line against the Lady Cardinals.

Senior Ella Wright also just missed double figures in scoring netting eight points for Flanagan’s Dutchgirls.

Junior guard Destinee Busenhart was next with six points followed by four markers and nine rebounds from sophomore Anna Skornia.

Stephani Elliott drilled a second-quarter 3-ball for three points while Katelyn Landolt his a pair of first-quarter free throws for two points to round out the Owensville scoring against Steelville.

JV Dutchgirls vs. Steelville

Denied third-place hardware over the weekend at Hermann by Rolla’s Lady Bulldogs, Hannah Wehar’s Owensville junior varsity Dutchgirls looked to get back on the winning track Monday night against Steelville at Owensville Elementary School.

Unable to overcome a 22-8 halftime deficit, Wehar’s JV Dutchgirls fell to the visiting Lady Cardinals 42-15.

Leah Reed paced Owensville with a team-high seven points followed by three markers each from Kate Angell and Keira Hendrix.

Kyla Hendrix rounded out the JV Dutchgirl scoring against Steelville with a pair of second-quarter free throws for two points.

JV Dutchgirls at Hermann

Looking to bounce back from a season-opening to Fatima, Owensville’s JV Dutchgirls opened tournament action at Hermann last week against Washington’s Lady Blue Jays.

Taking a 30-20 lead into the fourth quarter, Wehar’s JV Dutchgirls nearly saw it disappear before holding on for a 32-29 victory.

Connected on eight of her 11 free throws, Kyla Hendrix showed the way for Owensville with a team-high 12 points. Olivia Vandegriffe joined her in double figures with 10 points netting eight of them in the second half.

Keira Hendrix added seven points while Cami Gray rounded the JV Dutchgirl scoring against Washington with four points.

Advancing to the semifinals against the host Lady Bearcats, OHS only trailed 24-21 going into the fourth quarter before a Hermann run sent the JV Dutchgirls to the third-place contest following a 40-29 loss.

Improving on her 12-point effort in the first round, Kyla Hendrix put in a baker’s dozen leading Owensville with 13 points against the JV Lady Bearcats. Keira Hendrix joined her sister in double digits with 11 markers against Hermann.

Falling 33-24 against Rolla in the third-place game Saturday morning, Keira Hendrix paced the JV Dutchgirl offense with nine points.