Published on January 23, 2026 8:23 am
Last Updated on January 23, 2026 8:44 am
BY MILLIE LANGE
Cumberland laid it on the line Thursday evening at the National Trail Conference Girls Basketball Tournament.
The Pirates pounced early, taking a 22-15 halftime lead on Effingham St. Anthony. But the Bulldogs clawed back into contention with a 14-3 third period to lead 29-25 going into the final quarter.
That’s when Cumberland dug deep. The Pirates’ Jude Miller took things in hand and decided her team wasn’t going to lose. Miller hit two regular baskets, a three-pointer and was a perfect seven of seven at the line for 14 points.
Not only did she pull her team to victory in that final quarter, she also hit a major milestone. Miller needed 19 points to reach 1,000 for her career and hit a very important three-pointer with under two minutes to go that put the Pirates up by five and reached her 1,000th point on that bucket.
Alysa Dittamore was also a big scoring threat in that final quarter run. She connected on a three-pointer and hit two free throws for five points. Dittamore needs just six more points before she reaches the magical 1,000 points. Dittamore did all of this while picking up her third foul late in the first half and and her fourth foul not long into the second half, sitting the bench for most of the third quarter and a few minutes in the final period.
During the stretch, Dittamore was on the bench, the Bulldogs took advantage, going up by as many as seven points but Jade Carr also hit a three-pointer and two free throws and the Pirates outran St. Anthony 24-10 for the 49-39 victory.
Miller connected on seven field goals, two of those three-pointers and was seven of seven at the line for her leading 23 points. Carr finished with 15 and Dittamore 11.
Nancy Ruholl led the Bulldogs with 18 points on five field goals, one a three-pointer, and seven of eight at the line. She was the lone Bulldog player in double figures. Ali Kollmann led in rebounds with 12 while Addie Lauritzen added nine.
With the victory, Cumberland, seeded third, moved into the championship game and will take on top-seeded Brownstown/St. Elmo Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
St. Anthony, seeded second, will meet No. 4 Altamont Saturday for third place around noon.
In the opening game of the evening, Neoga tallied a 49-39 victory over North Clay.
The Cardinals moved into a 12-7 first quarter lead and led 17-15 at halftime.
But Neoga mounted a rally and went on a 17-9 third quarter run to move ahead 32-26. The North Clay Cardinals were having none of it as they rallied with an 11-5 fourth quarter run to knot the score and send the contest into overtime.
In the overtime period, Neoga had a slight 8-7 edge to pull out the victory as Molly Moran hit a free throw with under six seconds remaining.
Chloe Frankie was the lone Neoga player in double figures with 12 on four field goals and three of six at the line. Molly Moran and Madi Frankie chipped in with eight each.
Violet Price was the scoring leader for North Clay with 11 points on three field goals and five of eight at the line. Clara Hagen added eight points.
Neoga moves into the consolation championship to face Dieterich at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. South Central and North Clay will square off at 9 a.m. for seventh place.
NTC Tournament
Game 10
NORTH CLAY (44)
Romack 1-1 — 3, Price 3-4 — 10, Hagen 4-1 — 9, Thompson 3-0 — 6, Zink 2-2 — 6, Phililps 1-0 — 2, Fleener 3-2 — 8. TOTALS 17 FG, 10 FT.
NEOGA (45)
E. Frankie 0-0 — 0, Hartke 2-1 — 6, Moran 3-2 — 8, M. Frankie 4-0 — 8, C. Frankie 4-3 — 12, Wiessing 0-3 — 3, McKay 0-2 — 2, Ballinger 2-2 — 6. TOTALS 15 FG, 13 FT.
North Clay 12 5 9 11 7 — 44
Neoga 7 8 17 5 8 — 45
3-point FG — North Clay 0, Neoga 2 (Hartke 1, C. Frankie 1).
Game 11
ST. ANTHONY (39)
Gannaway 1-0 — 3, Ruholl 5-7 — 18, Schultz 1-1 — 3, Vonderheide 1-0 — 3, Kollmann 3-1 — 7, Lauritzen 2-1 — 5. TOTALS 13 FG, 10 FT.
CUMBERLAND (49)
Leitch 0-0 — 0, Miller 7-7 — 23, Tolen 1-0 — 2, Carr 2-7 — 13, Jones 0-0 — 0, Richard 0-0 — 0, Dittamore 4-2 — 11. TOTALS 14 FG, 16 FT.
St. Anthony 9 6 14 10 — 39
Cumberland 13 9 3 24 — 49
3-point FG — St. Anthony 3 (Gannaway 1, Ruholl 1, Vonderheide 1), Cumberland 5 (Miller 2, Carr 2, Dittamore 1).