Donettes headed to first final four since 2006

DONIPHAN — The Doniphan Donettes are going to the final four for the first time in 19 years.

The Donettes beat the St. James Lady Tigers 51-49 Saturday afternoon in a thrilling, nail-biting Class 4 girls basketball state quarterfinal at Bill L. Wright Gymnasium.

With their victory, Doniphan advances to the final four in Columbia on Friday to play MICDS from St. Louis, who beat Mexico 76-46 on Saturday.

The gym was filled to capacity and as loud as a jet engine, exactly the atmosphere one would expect for a state high school playoff game. St. James’ four starting seniors seized the momentum in the first quarter, but Doniphan’s fierce full-court defense kept it close, and the Donettes outscored the Lady Tigers 14-5 in the second quarter to lead 23-22 at the half.

Both teams held serve in the third quarter at 10 points apiece, but the fourth quarter was like a classic prizefight, with both teams throwing haymakers in the form of 3-pointers and steal-and-scores to give the hometown faithful one of the most thrilling and memorable victories in Doniphan sports history.

“It’s indescribable, to be honest with you,” said Donettes head coach Adam Epps about the win. “It’s a lot of hard work, and I’ve been telling you that we’ve been knocking on the door, and we were going to kick it in this year, and they totally did it today.”

Carsyn Hagood led the Donettes with 17 points, while Ellie White scored 12, Sarah Owen had eight, Kenna Kirby had seven and Maddy Redus put in six.

Doniphan improved its record to 27-2 for the season with the historic win.

“It’s just a privilege to be playing with these girls and making it this far,” said Owen, a senior forward. “We’ve all worked our butts off this whole season, and this is something we deserve.”

St. James senior Kenadee Smith had a game-high 20 points, with teammate Lydia Kemnitzer putting in 15.

The Lady Tigers finished their season at 22-7.

As the game opened, Doniphan scored the first two points, but St. James sank two deep 3s and added a steal-and-score to take an early 8-2 lead with 5:30 left in the first quarter. After another trey make it 12-4, Epps called time out with 4:38 remaining.

Owen was fouled on a layup but missed the foul shot, bringing the Donettes within six points of the lead at 14-8, but that was as close as they came in the opening period, trailing at the end of the first quarter 17-9.

“I said, ‘You can’t panic when they come out and hit a couple,’” Epps said. “St. James came ready to play; they do everything the right way, so we knew it was going to be a battle.”

Three minutes into the second quarter, Doniphan scored two more free throws on four attempts to cut St. James’ lead to 17-11. Kirby hit a triple to make it 17-14, then Hagood brought the Donettes within one point with a pair of free throws.

After trading baskets at both ends for the next few possessions, Doniphan created enough turnovers to take the lead, 23-22, with a Hagood layup with 53 seconds left in the half. It was the Donettes’ first lead since the 2-0 start of the game, climbing back from as many as 14 points down in the first quarter.

“We found our composure, got a little settled down, and started getting things that we wanted on the offensive end,” Epps said.

Neither team scored on their last possessions of the half, and after a rough and rocky start, Doniphan led 23-22 at halftime, its defense having turned the tide in the second quarter.

St. James opened the second half with another 3-pointer to regain a two-point lead at 25-23. Doniphan’s shooting woes, however, continued, as the Donettes missed on their first three possessions. Hagood scored on number four to make it 27-25.

Down 32-29 with the ball, Epps called time out with 2:38 left in the third. Doniphan’s defense forced two turnovers, and Maddy Redus’ short jumper was followed by another St. James turnover, which Hagood converted to regain a 33-32 lead with 20 seconds left in the third, which is how the quarter ended.

“We told each other to keep playing, just play our most normal game,” Redus said of the team’s second-half composure. “We had to keep attacking and make them pay for leaving us open.”

White opened the fourth with two free throws to give Doniphan a 35-32 lead, followed by layups from Kenna Kirby and White again, and after one minute, the Donettes led 39-32. St. James called timeout and the crowd was deafening.

The Lady Tigers responded with five points off two turnovers after the break to draw within 39-37. Doniphan came back with six points of its own to lead 45-38, but another long 3 from St. James cut the lead to 45-41.

After trading 3s, Doniphan led 48-44 with 2:26 left to play. The Lady Tigers scored another triple from the top of the key to cut it to 48-47.

St. James missed the 3 on its next possession, and Doniphan still led by one with 1:13 to play. Epps called another timeout to call the next play. They ran the clock down to 30 seconds before White was fouled.

White scored off Redus’ inbound pass for a 50-47 lead with 24 seconds left and St. James with the ball. The Lady Tigers committed a foul away from the ball to give the ball back to Doniphan with a three-point lead and 10.8 seconds to play.

Hagood was fouled on the inbounds pass, putting Doniphan in the bonus. She hit one of two for a four-point lead. St. James hit a layup to cut the lead to two, but the final two seconds expired on the Doniphan inbounds pass, and with the final buzzer, the celebration brought the house down.

“Everyone just loves each other so much,” Owen said. “No one’s playing individually for themselves — everyone’s playing for each other.”

Said Kirby: “This is my dream since I was a little girl. We came together as a team, and we’re just like a family. It’s such a blessing, and God has had so many miracles for us.”

And now the Donettes are two wins away from their first state title.

“We’re delighted to be going to final four,” Epps said. “It’s a bit of a career goal of mine, but we’re not done yet. We want to win it all, and I think we’ve got a good shot this year.”