STURGEON - It was a long time coming and long overdue for the South Callaway Lady Bulldogs - 28 years, to be exact.
No. 2 seed South Callaway showed some grit in climbing back from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter and the Lady Bulldogs fended off top-seeded Community R-6 in a tense final minute to claim the girls' title at the 32nd-annual Sturgeon Tournament late Friday night.
South Callaway head coach Darren Humphrey revealed afterward that the Lady Bulldogs played for a tournament championship Friday night for the first time since 1988. Humphrey learned that tidbit in a conversation he had Thursday night with former South Callaway athletic director and longtime Lady Bulldogs head coach Randy Riddle.
"It's something truly special," Humphrey said as he clutched the Sturgeon title trophy. "Every one of these girls, they've dedicated themselves to basketball this year.
"I couldn't be more proud of how they've overcome some adversity in their lives. We've gone through some struggles, but in the end they've hung together."
South Callaway (13-4) had to endure another white-knuckle finish before acquiring its championship. The Lady Bulldogs opened tournament play last Monday night by escaping with a 58-56 overtime victory over No. 7 seed Westran, then rallied in the fourth quarter for a 54-51 triumph over No. 6 Paris in Wednesday night's semifinals.
Down 34-31 heading to the fourth quarter Friday night, South Callaway answered with an 8-2 run to take its first lead of the game since the first quarter. Junior center Konnor Arrowood knocked down a pair of free throws to punctuate the run, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 39-36 edge with 3 minutes, 55 seconds to play.
Community pulled even on a putback by sophomore Alissa Curtis at the 3:08 mark, but sophomore guard Ashley Potter put South Callaway in front to stay at 41-39 when she converted two free throws with 2:44 left. The Lady Bulldogs' victory, though, wasn't secure yet.
Arrowood made two more free throws to extend South Callaway's lead to four points at the 1:18 mark, but then she missed a pair of chances with :38.8 remaining. Junior Danie Jackson countered by connecting on a jumper to bring the Lady Trojans within 43-41 with :30.6 to go.
Junior guard Nicole Horstman was fouled on the Lady Bulldogs' next possession, making the first of two free throws with :24.9 to play. Junior forward Adrian Mann was able to chase down Horstman's miss and was fouled with :16.1 left, burying both free throws to make it 46-41.
South Callaway finally seemed to have the game - and title - in hand, but fouled Community senior Danielle Brooks on an attempted putback with :04.9 remaining. Brooks hit both free throws to make it a three-point game and the Lady Trojans regained possession when senior Samm Jett forced a jump ball in the corner on the Lady Bulldogs' inbound pass with :04.1 to go.
Needing a 3-pointer to force overtime, Jett was able to get off a contested shot near the left wing of the arc that skipped off the rim and South Callaway grabbed the rebound just before the buzzer sounded. That brought an exhale and then set off an exhilarating celebration by the Lady Bulldogs and their fans.
"These girls are never out of it," Humphrey said. "They never consider themselves to be out of a game at all. They keep fighting back and work together as a unit very, very well."
Arrowood tallied seven of her game-high 14 points in the first quarter as South Callaway picked up its fifth straight win. Mann responded with nine of her 11 points in the second half, while Potter and sophomore guard Kaci Jordan contributed eight apiece.
Curtis topped Community with 12 points and Brooks added 11.
South Callaway travels to New Bloomfield for a Show-Me Conference clash at 6 p.m. Monday. The Lady Bulldogs demolished the Lady Wildcats 68-42 in the third-place game of the South Callaway Tournament on Jan. 16.
"Right now, those girls have confidence that they can take on just about anyone," Humphrey said. "We've got three games coming up this week that could be hard-fought battles, but once they believe in themselves, there's not much holding them back."