Doniphan's defensive prowess leads to vengeful victory over Notre Dame

It’s been a long time coming for Doniphan.

Ever since Notre Dame sullied their perfect season in the Class 4 District 1 championship game last year, the Donettes wanted nothing more than to come back to Cape Girardeau and avenge their lone loss.

The Donettes got their revenge with a 40-34 win over the Bulldogs on Monday, Jan. 20, at Notre Dame Regional High School.

“Much better feeling leaving this time than last time, that’s for sure,” Doniphan coach Adam Epps said.

Doniphan (11-1) entered the week ranked No. 5 in Class 4, and has only lost to California in the Sophie Cunningham Classic on Jan. 10.

"Doniphan's legit," Notre Dame head coach Kirk Boeller said. "I think they're a Final Four team. I think if they would have beat us in the district championship last year, they would have been in the Final Four, no question about it."

The Donettes outscored the Bulldogs 24-14 in the second half after being held to only three points in the second quarter and falling behind 20-16 at halftime.

Epps’ message to his team before the start of the second half was not to get “down when the ball doesn't go in the hole.”

“Notre Dame's a really good defensive team, and they're very well coached, and it was just hard for us to get a basket,” Epps said. "They had two bigs inside so it's hard for us to establish any kind of thing on our interior offensive side of things. We just had to kind of keep clawing and getting stops.

"That's the great thing about this team. We can play that bad offensively and still win because everybody's bought into what we're doing on defense."

Defense has been the calling card for the Donettes since Epps took over as head coach, ushering in a seven-year era in which Doniphan has won at least 20 games each season since 2019.

"I've been there seven years, and when I got there, we switched everything that they did," Epps said. "That's a huge part of our culture is defense and being able to hold the other opponent."

Carsyn Hagood led the Donettes with 19 points including 12 points in the second half and making 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

"It's not a secret she's one of our best offensive weapons, and her shot wasn't really falling tonight, so she got to the rim really good early, and they were kind of focused on her," Epps said. "Then they just had to foul late. So she got some free throws, and then she made some tough drives too. A lot of times for shooters, when the ball's not going in, you need to get to the free throw line to see it go in a little bit."

Ellie White and Sarah Owen combined to score 17 points for the Donettes. Along with Hasgood, the trio was responsible for all of the Donettes' scoring through the first three quarters. Kenna Kirby and Madilyn Redus each added two points in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs were led by Skylar Craft's 13 points including three baskets from the three-point line. Mia Panton and Eliza Barnette each scored eight points and Olivia Wagoner added four points.

Doniphan travel to East Carter on Tuesday and will return home to host Neelyville. Notre Dame gets ready for the Nixa Invitational Tournament on Thursday, Jan. 23.