The Lady Titans reached the halfway point of their conference slate with an unblemished mark — in fact, they haven’t walked off the court with a sour taste in their mouths all season.
Notre Dame improved to 9-0 on the season, and 7-0 in the SOC I standings, with a 57-40 road victory over archrival East Thursday night.
“We are constantly improving and working on our mistakes. The fact that we are undefeated is an added bonus to the amount of working these girls have been putting in everyday,” Titans head coach JD McKenzie said.
One reason Notre Dame has been successful has been the play of junior Hagen Schaefer who scored a team-high 22 points. While McKenzie needs Schaefer’s scoring ability, he’s impressed with her attention to detail.
“She’s obviously vital offensively for us,” McKenzie said. “Putting up 22 points is no small feat but I’m even more proud of the little things she does so well, such has coming up with seven steals tonight or the six rebounds she had.
Defensively, the Titans were stingy from the outset, only allowing the Tartans to scoring 10 points in the opening 16 minutes. Aside from Schaefer’s seven steals, Ragen Kayser recorded six steals.
“The team defense was good,” McKenzie said. “We cranked up the pressure in the first half and forced some turnovers that lead to transition baskets. Ragen and Molly (Hoover) did an outstanding job defensively all night.”
Lexi Smith finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
For East, Payton Huphinstine scored 22 points in the loss.
Notre Dame will return home Monday to face the Portsmouth Trojans.
Box Score
Notre Dame 20 11 10 16 — 57
East 4 8 15 13 — 40
Notre Dame — A. Smith 4-0-9, Dettwiller 4-0-8, Schaefer 9-4-22, Kayser 4-0-8, L. Smith 3-4-10.
East — Humble 1-0-2, Gifford 1-0-2, Dingum 3-0-6, Huphinstine 8-2-22, Smith 2-0-4, Brown 1-1-4.
3-point field goals — Notre Dame 1 (A. Smith); East 5 (Huphinstine 4, Brown).
Records — Notre Dame 9-0 (7-0); East N/A.
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