HALLSVILLE, Mo. - The North Callaway Ladybirds finished strong.
North Callaway led the Hallsville Lady Indians 34-31 at the start of the fourth quarter Friday night, before the Ladybirds controlled the clock with an 11-0 run that was punctuated with a layup by junior forward Kyla Bertschinger with 3 minutes, 36 seconds left in the game.
The run included three baskets by Bertschinger in the paint, a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Kenzie Ausfahl and a basket in the post by senior forward Sam Schaefer, spurring North Callaway to a 51-44 triumph over the Lady Indians.
"Our girls are mentally tough," Ladybirds head coach Morgan Beamer said. "I told them, 'You have to handle this situation,' and we did."
North Callaway (2-0) was able to go on that surge after making a defensive adjustment on Hallsville senior forward Hannah Stephens, who ended up with a game-high 19 points but scored just six in the final 8 minutes.
"In the fourth quarter, we decided to put Kyla Bertschinger on No. 32 (Stephens) to shut her down, and she did just that," Beamer said. "We knew No. 32 was a talented player. We forced her to make bad shots and make her frustrated."
The Ladybirds looked like they would run away with the victory at the outset, opening the game with a 10-2 run that was topped off by a Bertschinger layup with 5:47 to go in the first quarter. North Callaway used full-court pressure to come up with seven steals in the period, stretching its lead to 22-7.
"Our press obviously worked in the first quarter," Beamer said. "We did exactly what we wanted to do. They rotated well, they trapped, they got layups and did everything right.
"In the second quarter, we decided to stay in it and it wasn't as effective."
Hallsville (0-2) slowed the tempo down in the second period, outscoring North Callaway 12-4 to close within 26-16 of the Ladybirds at halftime. The Lady Indians carried that momentum over to the third quarter, riding a 10-2 run to go in front at 29-28 when Stephens made two free throws with 3:28 left.
North Callaway committed seven turnovers during the run and its only points came on a pair of free throws by Ausfahl.
"At that point in the game I told them, 'We're playing down, you're acting like you're down by 50 (points) and you're not,'" Beamer said. "'We have to take it to them, you can play harder and outwork them,' because they were outworking us at that point."
The Ladybirds grabbed the lead for good after junior forward Allie Schlueter knocked down two free throws at the 2:46 mark to make it 30-29.
Ausfahl directed North Callaway with 16 points, while Schlueter tallied 13. Bertschinger also provided 10 points and Schaefer added nine points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
"That shows right there that we're a team," Beamer said. "My girls aren't trying to get stats, they only care about the scoreboard, and I think those stats show that."
Junior forward Lydia Loethen also logged 13 points for Hallsville.
Beamer believes Friday night's win will give the Ladybirds some extra swagger for this week's 61st-annual Centralia Tournament. North Callaway drew the eighth seed and will face top-seeded Boonville in the first round at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
"I told my girls that these coaches thought you were an eight seed, so go prove them wrong," Beamer said. "We beat the No. 2 seed (Centralia 59-54 in the season opener) and then we just beat Hallsville, who is seeded above us as well (at No. 6). So we have some momentum going right now.
"Boonville is a really good squad, we're going to do our best to prepare for them, but I think coming off of this win - going into Monday - is the best-case scenario."