As nail-biters go, Saturday’s championship game at the Eugene tournament couldn’t have been more nerve-racking as the Lady Comets pulled out a 49-46 win in double overtime against the host Lady Eagles.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of kids,” said Coach Matt Baker. “We played a very good Eugene team on their floor. We knew going into that game that they’d be well-coached and ready for us.”

Down two at the end of the first overtime period, Morgan Luebbering hit a pair of free-throws to tie it up at 44 and send the game into a second extra frame.
“Morgan played the best game of her young Fatima career, scoring 18 points and pulling down 17 rebounds and we needed every one of those,” said Baker, as Luebbering went 8-11 from the line on the night and recorded one
assist and two steals.

Lauren Brandt hit a pair of free-throws, going 6-8 on the night as she scored 16 points while collecting four rebounds, all on the offensive end of the floor.

“Morgan and Lauren also went perfect from the FT line in the overtime periods, and considering the situation, that is remarkable,” Baker noted as the team went 17-25 (68%) from the stripe.

Fatima led 47-46 with 8.8 seconds to play in the second overtime, set to defend against a final play by the Lady Eagles. A steal altered that plan, and with 1.2 seconds on the clock, Dani Stegeman, who scored six points, hit two from the line to ice the game. She grabbed five rebounds and had a block.

Lucy Williams hit two three-pointers for his six points, as Chayce Gier scored two, and Londyn Stuckenschneider finished with one to go with two rebounds.

“We had great minutes from Lucy, and Chayce continues to give us quality time off the bench” said Baker, as they each snagged one rebound on the night.

After a tight first quarter, Fatima led 11-9, but seemed to find a groove in the second quarter, outscoring Eugene 13-4. However, the Lady Eagles reversed the flow of the game in the third quarter with a 15-6 edge to make it a 30-28 score.

Eugene used a 10-8 margin in the fourth to force overtime.

Ellie Brune, Karli Struemph and Brandt each posted three assists and a steal.

“Overall, this was a big step for a young team early in the year,” said Baker.

“Hopefully this provides us with some confidence moving forward.”

In the semifinal round, the Lady Comets knocked off St. Elizabeth 44-30.

Leading 17-14 at the break, Fatima surged in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Hornets 22-10 to set up the win.

Fatima scored 19 points off turnovers and recorded 13 steals as a team.

Scoring was spread out, with Brandt posting a teamhigh 12 points, including two three-pointers and a perfect 4-4 stint at the line, as she dished the ball twice, and collected two steals.

Struemph added eight points (trey) with three boards, two assists and four steals, while Gier scored five (trey), with two assists, a rebound and a steal.

Stegeman also hit a three-pointer on her way to five points, with four rebounds, an assist, a steal and the team’s lone block, while Luebbering and Williams each scored four, and Brune and Taylor Bexten put in three points apiece. Brune had a teamhigh six rebounds and Luebbering added five.

The Lady Comets in the tournament opener dominated Calvary Lutheran 56-14.

Overall, Fatima hit 12-28 from three-point range and scored 35 points off 24 turnovers.

Gier drained four treys for her team-high 12 points, as Brandt posted one on her way to nine points, Williams, Chesney Luebbering and Brune each had two and scored six apiece, and Struemph posted one as part of her five points. Also scoring were Anna Eichholz and Stegeman, each with four, and Lydia Hurst with one.

Brandt counted five assists, with three more by Stegeman, and two each by Eichholz, Gier and Stuckenschneider.

On the glass, Hurst’s five rebounds paced the team, as Eichholz and Bexten grabbed four apiece, Stuckenschneider added three, and Stegeman, M. Luebbering and C. Luebbering each had two.

Defensively , Stuckenschneider recorded the only block, as Brandt recorded three steals to go with two apiece by Gier, Struemph and Hurst, and one each by Stegeman, Williams, Brune and Bexten.