St. Dominic gets payback

Ryan Prewitt/Suburban Journals | St. Dominic players cheer on the bench in the closing seconds of the Crusaders' Class 4 quarterfinal victory over Miller Career Academy.

In each of the last two seasons, the St. Dominic girls basketball team has missed out on golden opportunities to reach the Class 4 semifinals.

Not this year.

Thanks to a big second half and some helpful fouls called in their favor, the Crusaders stifled Miller Career Academy in Saturday’s Class 4 quarterfinal and departed Lindenwood University’s Hyland Performance Arena with a 52-41 win.

The Crusaders, who finished fourth overall in 2007 and lost in the quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009, advance to the final four for the second time in coach Suzie Mennemeier’s four-year tenure. St. Dominic was 27-0 last season before losing to Miller 44-39 in the quarterfinals, an experience Mennemeier said may have given her team added motivation for the rematch.

“We know we’ve accomplished a lot the last two years,” Mennemeier said, “but we couldn’t get over the hump.”

For the Crusaders to earn a return trip to Mizzou Arena, they had another hurdle to clear in the form of Miller’s 5-foot-11 Shanity James. The sophomore forward helped lead the Pheonix to an 18-8 lead but was called for two early charges and spent much of the final three quarters on the bench in foul trouble before eventually fouling out.

“She controlled the whole tempo of the game and when she’s in the game good things happen,” Miller coach Darrin White said. “That was big for us, not having her in the game in foul trouble.”

With James on the bench, St. Dominic found its stride on both ends of the floor. The Crusaders closed the first half on a 10-2 run to pull within two points of the lead and caught a second wind when James sat with her third foul midway through the third quarter.

By using their full-court press, St. Dominic forced and scored off several Miller turnovers, took a 38-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter and sealed the win at the free-throw line.

“We worked really hard at practice on our defense and on our press,” said sophomore Kelly Schneiders, who netted 10 points for the Crusaders.”That really helped us come back after being down at halftime.”

Junior Jennifer Rocha led St. Dominic with a game-high 15 points while senior Leslie Wilmes also finished in double figures with 11. James’ 12 paced Miller, which entered the game having won eight straight games and finished its season 20-7.

“We’re just that team that doesn’t give up or stops pushing,” Rocha said. “Nobody wants to lose, so at halftime coach just said to pressure them on defense and that would create opportunities for us to score.”

Prior to Mennemeier’s arrival, St. Dominic had never won a district title. Now the Crusaders are set to return to Mizzou Arena in Columbia, where they will face either Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau) or St. Francis Borgia in Friday’s 3:20 p.m. semifinal.

Saturday’s win gave St. Dominic its 23rd consecutive win. The Crusaders improved to 25-3 and haven’t lost since Dec. 10.

gneunuebel@yourjournal.com