WESTPHALIA - The unbeaten, state-ranked South Callaway Lady Bulldogs somehow survived an atrocious beginning.
Top-seeded South Callaway battled its way back from a 14-0 deficit to open the game, then outscored No. 4 Fatima 15-6 in the fourth quarter to come away with a 52-42 triumph in the Class 3, District 9 girls' semifinals Wednesday night.
The Lady Bulldogs didn't take their first lead of the game until freshman reserve guard Kayleigh Torufa buried a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left in the third quarter to put them on top 37-36.
"We all respect Fatima and what they can do, and they were playing at home," Lady Bulldogs head coach Darren Humphrey said. "We knew what the setting was going to be like and nerves definitely played a role - there was a lot of emotion going on.
"What I like about these girls is that they're just not going to give up on each other - they've been a tight group the whole season."
South Callaway (25-0) - ranked second in Class 3 - will now move on to a highly anticipated rematch with No. 2 seed Hermann (23-4) for the District 9 championship at 6 p.m. Friday. The Lady Bearcats advanced by blasting No. 3 seed Blair Oaks 54-30 in Wednesday night's second semifinal.
The Lady Bulldogs defeated Hermann 62-48 in the championship of the South Callaway Tournament on Jan. 13.
"Hermann has been to the postseason before and that's something that our girls haven't experienced, but they're not ready to go home and call it a year yet," Humphrey said.
South Callaway couldn't have anticipated a worse start Wednesday night as Fatima (19-8) connected on four 3-pointers - including three from senior guard Courtney Wolfe - to build its big advantage. The Lady Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard when freshman forward DeLaney Horstman hit the first of two free throws to make it 14-1 with 3 minutes to go in the first quarter.
South Callaway was able to settle down, outscoring the Lady Comets 8-2 to finish the quarter. Horstman converted 1-of-2 free throws with :05.3 remaining to cut the Lady Bulldogs' deficit in half at 16-8.
South Callaway continued to find its rhythm by tallying the first seven points of the second quarter, pulling within 16-15 on freshman guard Paige Clubb's 3 at the 5:58 mark. Fatima extended its lead back to six points on three different occasions, but a late basket by senior guard Adrian Mann brought the Lady Bulldogs within 27-23 at halftime.
The Lady Comets opened the third quarter on an 8-4 run, increasing their lead to 35-27 on a basket by freshman guard Lauren Brandt. However, the momentum shifted toward South Callaway when Wolfe - Fatima's leading scorer - left the game with an apparent shoulder injury with 3:08 to play in the quarter. She didn't return.
The Lady Bulldogs capitalized by reeling off a 10-1 run to end the quarter, going in front for the first time on Torufa's trey.
After Lady Comets junior guard Katelyn Vanderfeltz made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game at 37-all early in the fourth quarter, South Callaway countered with six unanswered points to go in front to stay. The Lady Bulldogs made 7-of-10 free throws in the final 2:34 and senior guard Ashley Potter's basket with about :13 left topped off the win.
Mann delivered 13 of her game-high 19 points in the second half to direct South Callaway, which had previously edged Fatima 53-49 in a Show-Me Conference matchup Feb. 8 in Mokane. Horstman also supplied 16 points Wednesday night.
Wolfe topped the Lady Comets with 15 points - all coming on five 3s - before being forced out of the game. Junior forward Gina Stegeman added 12 points.