Wellsville ? The Eudora High girls basketball squad might be good at creating holes, but they’ve become even better at digging themselves out.

The latest evidence came Thursday at the Wellsville Top Gun Tournament, where the Cardinals overcame a horrendous start and a 15-point deficit to defeat St. Marys, 43-39, and advance to the championship game at 7:45 p.m. Saturday.

“It shows a lot of our team that we can come back from that,” Eudora coach Ryan Luke said, “and play as hard as we did.”

It was hard to imagine a tougher start. Eudora turned the ball over on its first four possessions, and its first shot came over two minutes into the game.

Meanwhile, St. Marys made four of five threes to take a 14-0 lead and force a second Eudora timeout in the first four minutes.

“We just told ourselves to stay calm,” Eudora freshman Nikki Snider said.

“Don’t take things for granted and play our game.”

The Cardinals did just that the rest of the way, led by their defense in the final three quarters.

A combination of zone defenses forced 17 Bear turnovers in the final 24 minutes, leading to easy Cardinal baskets.

Eudora also became more efficient on offense. An 8-0 run in the second quarter was followed by a 12-0 spurt in the third quarter, where the Cardinals took their first lead at 33-30. They never trailed after that.

“We haven’t played very mature, and I thought we did that tonight,” Luke said. “There were times when we were going with our hair on fire and we needed to slow it down. I think we’re slowly understanding.”

Erin Kracl led the Cardinals with 12 points, while Snider and Carrie Lister each added 10.

Baldwin 38, Anderson County 26

Not only did Baldwin coach Bob Martin have depth, he wasn’t afraid to use it in a 12-point victory.

Twelve players contributed significant minutes in the victory, which sent the Bulldogs to the tournament’s championship game for the fourth time in five years.

“We’re just happy to be playing the late one Saturday night,” Martin said. “That’s where we wanted to be.”

Kelsey Verhaeghe sparked Baldwin in the first quarter, scoring all the team’s points from the same location. The junior hit three long-range shots from the right side of the arc, giving the team a 9-2 lead after the first eight minutes.

“I was feeling it,” Verhaeghe said. “I always run over there when we get the outlet. It’s kind of where I like to take them.”

The 5-foot-7 guard finished with five treys – tying a tournament record – and 15 points. Ellie Meinen added six.

The Baldwin defense held Anderson County to two points in both the first and third quarters.

Wellsville 57, Spring Hill 43

Erica Patton knocked down 12 free throws on her way to a game-high 23 points for Wellsville in the consolation semifinals. The Eagles will play Kansas City Piper at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the fifth-place game.

Kansas City Piper 56, Ottawa 47

Megan Ramsey scored 21, but it wasn’t enough as the Cyclones fell in a consolation semifinal. Ottawa will face Spring Hill at 4:15 p.m. Saturday in the seventh-place game.

Baldwin 38, Anderson County 26

Baldwin 9 12 7 10 – 26

Anderson Co. 2 12 2 10 – 38

Baldwin – Kelsey Verhaeghe 15, Ellie Meinen 6, Amy Craig 4, Ashley Tucker 4, Colby Heckathorne 3, Amanda Vander Tuig 3, Denise Orloff 2, Katelyn Miles 1, Becca Stroman 0, Jessica Hill 0, Heather Garcia 0.

Anderson County – Brecken McDaniel 7, Kassidy Spring 6, Elaine Tastove 6, Kaleigh Maloan 5, Andrea Duncan 2.

Eudora 43, St. Marys 39

Eudora 7 12 14 10 – 43

St. Marys 14 14 4 7 – 39

Eudora – Erin Kracl 12, Nikki Snider 10, Carrie Lister 10, Michelle Deluna 5, Emily Ballock 4, Emily Gloshen 2, Haley Epperson 0, Rachel Pyle 0.

St. Marys – Megan Moylan 13, Laura Kinderknecht 10, Megan Lueger 8, Miranda Quintanilla 4, Taylor Cantillon 2, Audra Teske 2, Mary Jo Mott.

Wellsville 57, Spring Hill 43

Spring Hill 10 11 6 16 – 43

Wellsville 13 9 16 17 – 57

Spring Hill – Amanda Hammersmith 9, Amanda Dittmer 8, Lacey Cunningham 8, Jamie Strowig 6, Samantha Zarda 4, Kalaey Schrader 3, Ali Casanova 3, Jennifer House 2.

Wellsville – Erica Patton 23, Maurissa Shaffer 11, Korey Higbie 9, Rachel Whalen 7, Meagan Montis 3, Carissa Hughes 2, Roberta Barthol 2.

Kansas City Piper 56, Ottawa 47

Kansas City Piper 15 14 10 17 – 56

Ottawa 14 1 17 15 – 47

Piper – Michelle Selbe 24, Allie Nichols 10, Marissa Smith 9, Katie Rhoades 6, Allison Brown 4, Elizabeth Brewer 3.

Ottawa – Megan Ramsey 21, Stephanie Mars 8, Kristen Hendrickson 6, Stephanie Hermreck 4, Katie Hawkins 2, Jill Spratt 2.