St. Elizabeth R-IV School District

https://www.newstribune.com/news/2026/mar/03/duemmels-hot-start-leads-st-elizabeth-girls-basketball-past-wheatland-in-class-1-sectional/

STOVER -- The St. Elizabeth Lady Hornets have had some trouble starting games this season. That was not the case Monday night, especially for Charli Duemmel.

Duemmel came out and made a pair of 3-pointers in the first 75 seconds of the game. She made five of the Lady Hornets’ seven 3s, providing an early spark to a 65-46 victory against the Wheatland Lady Mules in the Class 1 state sectional round at the Stover Dome.

“Today, I had a lot of confidence,” Duemmel said. “In the postseason, I’ve been struggling shooting (the ball), and I know that now, it’s either you win or you go home.

“I have to do whatever it takes for my team to move forward.”

Duemmel’s first 3 came in the opening minute from the right corner. Just like that, St. Elizabeth had a three-point lead and never trailed.

“After I made my first one, I just knew that I had to keep shooting,” Duemmel said.

That seemed like logical thinking, especially when Duemmel made a 3 from the left wing on St. Elizabeth’s next possession, prompting Wheatland to call a timeout just 1:16 into the contest.

“Charli’s been the best shooter we’ve had all year,” St. Elizabeth coach Quentin Voss said. “… She’s shot over 40 percent all year, so she’s shooting really, really well.”

When Duemmel made her fifth 3 of the game in the third quarter, the St. Elizabeth student section chanted, “She’s a sniper!” It was an accurate description, as Duemmel was 5-of-7 from 3 and finished with 17 points.

“I love it, I love being the shooter,” Duemmel said.

Kate Murphy scored five points in a 49-second span for Wheatland, cutting the Lady Mules’ deficit to 15-12. But St. Elizabeth’s one-possession lead soon expanded to double digits.

Reagan Wobbe made a basket over two defenders in the closing minute of the first quarter to give the Lady Hornets a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Duemmel then made a steal and scored an easy layup, and once St. Elizabeth got the ball back, she made her third 3 -- this time from the right corner -- to stretch the lead to 22-12.

Wheatland started the game in a man-to-man defense, then after calling a second timeout with 1:44 to go in the first quarter, the Lady Mules switched to a zone defense.

It didn’t seem to matter what Wheatland threw at St. Elizabeth. The Lady Hornets still found a way to get the ball in the basket, making 22-of-39 shots (56.4 percent).

“It takes us a little bit to get going, which can be very frustrating, because we knew coming in they would do a diamond-and-one, they can play man and they can play a 3-2 (zone),” Voss said. “Once we got going, we were fine.”

St. Elizabeth’s defense contained Wheatland 5-foot-1 sophomore guard Mariah Box, who was the team’s leading scorer in Friday’s district championship win against Weaubleau. She drove at the basket three times in the first half, and each time her shot was blocked by a Lady Hornet defender.

“She’s a really good finisher around the rim, she finishes high off the backboard,” Voss said. “We were trying to make a concerted effort to push her wide in the lane and challenge every shot she took.”

Wobbe went coast-to-coast off a steal for a layup in the closing seconds of the first half to give St. Elizabeth a 36-26 lead at intermission.

Duemmel got the Lady Hornets going, then Wobbe took care of business in the second half. The all-state senior guard scored 20 of St. Elizabeth’s 29 points in the final 16 minutes.

Wobbe was able to get to the basket a number of times, but she was also very successful with her jump-stop floater shots near the baseline.

“She’s able to shoot over taller players, and they had a pretty tall player,” Voss said. “Being able to shoot from 7-8 feet instead of getting all the way to the rim is pretty big for her.”

St. Elizabeth made only seven field goals in the second half, five by Wobbe. But the Lady Hornets drew 14 fouls and attempted 18 free throws, making 13 of them. Wobbe was 9-of-10 at the line.

“We didn’t let them get a chance to get back in it during those first couple minutes of the second half,” Voss said.

The Lady Hornets led 56-38 at the end of the third quarter, then Wobbe scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to give her team its largest lead of the game at 23 points.

Wobbe finished with a game-high 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting, adding six rebounds. Kinley Kemna chipped in nine points as the team’s third-leading scorer.

Box had a team-high 14 points for Wheatland (23-6), followed by Murphy with 13 points and Charley Crouch with 11.

St. Elizabeth (27-2), ranked No. 1 in the state, will face Hume (18-11) in the state quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Friday at Lincoln High School. Hume defeated Green Ridge 56-54 in Monday’s sectional round.

With a win, St. Elizabeth would reach the Final Four for the first time in program history, the same position the Lady Hornets were in last year when they lost in overtime to Walnut Grove in the quarterfinals.

“It’s been a whole year of frustration, trying to get back here,” Voss said. “Now we’re here. We’ve got to get relaxed, get in the flow of the game and don’t let the moment be too big for us.”