St. Dominic Rolls to 57-35 Win Over Timberland

The girls basketball team is enjoying life as the defending state champion - both on and off the court.   

No pressure. Just fun and games for the Crusaders.   

"Every time we play somebody we always get their best effort," said senior guard Lauren Needham. "That makes us work harder and we like that."    

Added senior forward Kelly Schnieders, "Everyone respects us because of what we did last year. That's kind of cool."   

The returning Class 4 title-holders put together their best effort of the young season on Wednesday night.   

Needham poured in a career-high 21 points and Schnieders added 10 points and six rebounds to lead St. Dominic to a 57-35 win over in a non-conference contest at St. Dominic High.   

The Crusaders bounced back from a trio of early-season hiccups to improve to 3-3.   

Timberland, which stayed close throughout most of the first half, fell to 3-5.    St. Dominic is coming off a record-setting 30-0 season in which it won its first ever state basketball crown.   

Now, the Crusaders are enjoying the benefits of that once-in-a-lifetime campaign.   

"People expect a lot from us, but that's OK," said Needham, who also added six assists on Wednesday. "We expect a lot from ourselves too."   

Those expectations may just include a second successive state championship. Needham, Schnieders and senior Abigail Niemeyer return as starters from last year's squad. Senior Madeline Bathe and junior Kristin Wolff round out a solid starting lineup.   

Freshman Riley Ebenroth led a strong bench effort with eight points against Timberland.    

St. Dominic struggled out of the gate this season losing three of its first five games. But a pair of setbacks to Borgia and a loss to Eureka appear to have toughened the squad in its attempt to repeat.   

"It's taken a while for us to jell," said Coach Suzie Mennemeier. "At the start we didn't play as hard as we hoped."   

Needham, who led the state title team with 22 three-pointers, says the group learned a lot from the run of three defeats in nine days.   

"You never want to lose, but we gained some experience and it showed us the things we need to work on," she said.   

Schnieders said it took a while for the players to get on the same page together.   

"Our chemistry was a little shaky," she noted.   

The Crusaders returned to championship form against an improving Timberland squad. They used a 13-2 run over the final 4:55 of the first half to break a tie and take control 30-19. They pumped the lead to 22 points in the third quarter before coasting home.   

St. Dominic was particularly impressive at the defensive end forcing 29 turnovers.

"I think we've got it back together now," Mennemeier said. "I was very pleased with the defense. That's the name of our game. My motto is, 'You don't have to be good - you just have to play hard.'   We played hard tonight."   

The 5-foot-5-inch Needham got the ball rolling scoring three early baskets to stake her club to a 15-6 lead. She also triggered the game-deciding 13-2 blitz with seven points.    

"She's a big spark for us," Mennemeier said. "She's everywhere doing everything. She's one of those players that you're glad she's on your team."   

Needham reeled off seven successive points including a three-pointer from the wing that pushed the lead to 24-17.

Ebenroth followed with a jumper from close range and sophomore Sophia Bathe hit back-to-back baskets in the final 1:17 to put the Crusaders up 30-13.   

St. Dominic salted the game away by scoring 15 of the first 19 points at the outset of the second half. Schnieders hit a pair of baskets and Needham canned another long-range trey to highlight the streak. Wolff, Madeline Bathe and Shelby Mueller also added key two-pointers.   

Timberland stayed close throughout the first 12 minutes. The Wolves scored the first six points of the second quarter to tie the game 17-17. Sam Domalewski sank two jumpers and Sam Smith, who finished with a team-high 12 points, scored from the lane to even the score.   

But St. Dominic used its pressure defense to force seven turnovers in the final six minutes of the half.   

"We had spurts of good effort," said Timberland Coach Hayley Leake. "But we picked and chose when we played hard and you can't do that against a team like St. Dominic.   

Taliesha Hart had eight points for the Wolves. Domalewski finished with seven.