Lady Bulldogs Fall to St. Charles Lutheran, Finish 2nd at Hermann Tournament
- RoMoAthletics
- Jan 31
- 5 min read
January 31st, 2026
The veteran Lutheran St. Charles squad, playing all juniors and seniors, was too much for the young Lady Bulldogs, as they fell in the championship game of the Hermann Tournament last night, 50-61.
First Quarter Struggles
Unlike the first two rounds of the Hermann tournament, where the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to early leads, Friday night the Lady Bulldogs struggled to get points, starting the game down 2-12.
Early foul trouble plagued the Lady Bulldogs as well. 5'10” So guard Madison Hutton spent a considerable amount of time on the bench early in the game. Hutton is the only returner with experience playing varsity basketball besides All-District 5’8” Sr guard Mariah Watkins.
The Lady Bulldogs trailed the Cougars 5 to 16 after one period.
Continuing to Fight
Rolla was able to settle down and find more offense in the second period but was unable to slow down Lutheran St. Charles. Watkins finished the quarter with 6 points, 5'10” Fr guard Bella Cambell had 5 points in the quarter and 9 for the half. The lone 3 point bucket for the Lady Bulldogs was knocked down by 5’7” Fr guard Addy Deremo who ended with 4 points in the half.
The Lady Bulldogs, despite outscoring the Cougars in the 2nd period, were only able to cut into the lead by 2 points, trailing at the half 23-30.
The Cougars added 3 from beyond the arc on their way to 19 points in the quarter while limiting the Lady Bulldogs to 12 points in the quarter. Lutheran St. Charles went 10 for 12 from the charity stripe in the second half.
Campbell managed 4 more points in the second half before fouling out. Watkins added 10 more points in the second half as did 5’10” Fr forward Rylee Anderson. The Cougars went 6 for 7 from the line in the final quarter
Limited Possessions
The Lady Bulldogs had limited possessions all night as they gave up 18 offensive rebounds to the Cougars of Lutheran St. Charles resulting in 23 points. The Cougars were led by Illinois State commit, Kennedy Stowers. Stowers, a 6’2” senior, went for 13 points and 9 rebounds while going 5 for 5 from the free throw line. Six of the rebounds were on the offensive glass.
Compounding the issues on the glass were the 23 turnovers committed by the Lady Bulldogs, many of which were unforced leading to 23 points as well. Unlike the previous two games where the Lady Bulldogs were able to win the turnover battle, St. Charles Lutheran is full of upperclassmen and were able to turn the tables.
“Lutheran St. Charles was a tough matchup - a mixture of good guard play and bigs one committed to Illinois State,” said Head Coach Charley Parker. “When you give a good team like that extra possessions you’re going to find yourself in a hole.”
When asked for her takeaways from playing such a high caliber, veteran team, Campbell had this to say, “We need to work on blocking out the back side, closing out, and be able to manage the other team’s pressure better as a team. Our team needs to also improve on being able to move on to the next play and not dwell on missed shots or bad plays. Next play mentality.”
The Wrap Up
Giving up 46 points off of turnovers and offensive rebounds combined is a stat that no team is going to overcome, especially a team as young as the Lady Bulldogs. “We battled a really really good state ranked team. We have to clean our game up though to beat these tough teams,” said Parker.
The Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring once again by Watkins, who finished with a game high 16 points. Campbell finished with 13 points and 8 boards while Anderson had 12 points and 7 boards. The Lady Bulldogs were able to get to the free-throw line once again where they hit on 15 of 20 attempts. Watkins and Campbell both were selected to the All -Tournament Team.
When asked where she is going to personally focus her development efforts, Campbell wasted no time on her answer. “I need to work on going up strong versus fading away from contact and be able to finish through contact. I also need to limit any unforced turnovers and improve my decision making.”
Having some time to reflect, Coach Parker sees a lot to build upon. “I felt like it was a good test for us to see where we are. In my mind we are right there with some of the best in the State. We just have to play a cleaner game to come out on top of these good teams. We will get there.”
Next Up
Travel to St. Louis to take on Class 5 MICDS (10-7) on Mon. Feb 2nd
Led by 6’1” So guard Jordyn Haywood
Set school records for scoring, rebounding, and steals as a freshman
Member of the 2025 USA Women's U16 National Team
Final 4 last season with a 23-8 record
Common Opponent: Marquette
Rolla L (61 - 71) MICDS W (64-62)
PPG: Rolla 59.3 vs MICDS 55.6
Points Allowed/Game: Rolla 50.8 vs MICDS 50.2
STATS Lutheran St. Charles 61, Rolla 50
The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):
Rolla (12-7): Hutton 0-2-2, Watkins 7-2-16, Fontenot 0-2-2, Deremo 1-2-5, Campbell 4-5-13, Anderson 5-2-12
St. Charles Lutheran (11-4): Franklin 5-3-14, Cooley 6-0-12, Frame 1-2-4, Stowers 4-5-13, L. Todd 2-0-6, Young 2-0-5, H. Todd 3-1-7
The score by periods:
TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
Rolla 6 17 12 15 50
St. Charles Lutheran 15 15 19 12 61
26th Annual Hermann Invitational Girls All-Tournament Team
1st Team
Kennedy Stowers (Lutheran St. Charles) - MVP
Kyrii Franklin (Lutheran St. Charles)
Bella Campbell (Rolla)
Mariah Watkins (Rolla)
Kealie Lane (Hermann)
2nd Team
Addy Cooley (Lutheran St. Charles)
Andrea VanBooven (Hermann)
Alli Greer (Liberty Wentzville)
Alivia Guehne (New Haven)
Emma Rodgers (Montgomery County)
26th Annual Hermann Invitational Girls Tournament
Friday’s Finals Results:
Thursday’s SemiFinal Results:
Thursday’s Consolation SemiFinal Results:
First Round Games:
#1 Lutheran St. Charles advances
Comments