Sixth-seeded Bulldogs reach tournament final

~ Notre Dame pulled off its second straight upset with a 52-34 victory over No. 2 Jackson.

The final four of the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic know each other well from the Farmington Invitational earlier this season.

But the Notre Dame Bulldogs are doing their best to reintroduce themselves as a team with confidence.

The Bulldogs hammered Jackson 52-34 in a championship semifinal game Thursday night at the Show Me Center, avenging a 14-point loss Dec. 1 in the fifth-place game at the Farmington Invitational.

"That was early in the season, and I don't think we were all really together," junior guard Emily Brumitt said. "We were all young, and hadn't been on the court together, and we had a new coach. We're more comfortable now."

Jackson's Ashten Howard, left, drew a foul from Notre Dame defender Emily Brumitt during their semifinal game of the St. Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic on Thursday at the Show Me Center. (Kit Doyle)

The Bulldogs clamped down on Jackson, building a 24-11 lead by halftime and stretching the advantage to 35-16 on Amanda Pleimann's jumper in the final seconds of the third quarter. Notre Dame, which went up by as much as 21 points in the fourth, improved to 7-3.

The No. 6 seed in the eight-team Saint Francis field, the Bulldogs will have the chance to avenge another loss from the Farmington tourney in tonight's 8:30 p.m. championship game. They will face Farmington, which beat Notre Dame 58-43 in Farmington and had the top seed in this week's event.

Jackson, which had won four straight Holiday Classic titles, fell to 6-3. The Indians hit 11-of-41 field goals, including a 1-for-8 stretch during the third period. They missed their first four 3-pointers, finishing 2-for-7 when Ashten Howard knocked down two in the fourth period.

"It seemed like our defense was working," said 5-foot-11 sophomore Jane Morrill, who had four blocked shots and altered several others for Notre Dame. "Offensively, we moved the ball around well."

On the other hand, Notre Dame hit six 3s -- four by Brumitt, who scored a team-high 16 -- and missed only three from long range.

Jackson's Allison Smith passed through traffic during the Indians' semifinal game against Notre Dame.

Morrill and 5-9 senior forward Paige Schumer helped control the glass and the interior against Jackson. Morrill contributed 12 points on the offensive end, and Schumer added 10. Junior guard Alex Fowler added nine, hitting two 3-pointers.

"We needed to reduce our turnovers," first-year Notre Dame coach Renee Peters said. "Jackson did a nice job forcing turnovers the first time, but we handled the ball and took advantage of our height inside. We just played with a lot more confidence."

Peters said Notre Dame's defensive focus was Jackson point guard Cody Goodpasture.

"We had a nice guard rotation and kept fresh legs on the floor so we could put full-court pressure on Goodpasture," Peters said.

Howard was the only Jackson player in double figures. The Indians will try to beat Central for the second time this season in the third-place game at 7 p.m.

NOTRE DAME 52, JACKSON 34

Jackson 7 4 5 18 -- 34

Notre Dame 10 14 11 17 -- 52

Jackson (34) -- Kaylen Knepp 7, Cody Goodpasture 2, Cassandra Bollinger 3, Ashten Howard 17, Whitney McNeely 2, Kelci Keith 2, Landon Wachter 1. FG 11. FT 11-16. F 13. (3-pointers: Howard 2. Fouled out: none)

Notre Dame (52) -- Alex Fowler 9, Emily Brumitt 16, Amanda Pleimann 2, Jane Morrill 12, Paige Schumer 10, Allyson Bradshaw 3. FG 19. FT 8-9. F 13. (3-pointers: Brumitt 4, Fowler 2. Fouled out: none)