MOKANE - The No. 8 seed Ladybirds fended off the No. 5 Dutchgirls in the final seconds of Wednesday night's win in the consolation semifinals of the South Callaway Invitational Tournament.
Senior forward Kyla Bertschinger converted both ends of a 1-and-1 free-throw opportunity with 15 seconds left to give North Callaway a 47-44 advantage. Owensville - instead of attempting a 3-pointer that could have forced overtime - scored on a drive to the basket with :00.2 remaining to account for the final margin.
The Ladybirds (8-6) jumped out to an 18-9 lead after one quarter and went into halftime with a 30-18 advantage. The Dutchgirls (4-8) pulled within 36-33 by outscoring North Callaway 15-6 in the third quarter.
Bertschinger finished with 13 points and six rebounds to spark the Ladybirds, who connected on 8-of-13 free throws. Senior forward Allie Schlueter supplied 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while junior guard Kenzie Ausfahl added 12 points and five assists.
"We came out strong in the first half, but in the second half we came out a little flat," North Callaway head coach Morgan Beamer said. "We played well at the defensive end and did a good job of making our free throws with the pressure on."
Breanna Diestelkamp answered with a game-high 22 points for Owensville. Morgan Lairmore contributed 11 points, including three 3-pointers.
The Ladybirds will face either No. 6 seed Russellville or No. 7 Montgomery County for fifth place at 6 p.m. Friday in the high school gym.