Stacie Vonderheide and Nancy Ruholl both turned in double-double performances Saturday night, helping the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs bring the National Trail Conference Girls Basketball Tournament championship back home.

Vonderheide, named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Ruholl, named to the all-tournament team, had 25 points and also pulled down 11 boards, as the Lady Bulldogs posted a 69-60 victory and brought home the championship hardware to add to the school’s trophy case.

Even though SAHS led at every stop, the game was close throughout. The Lady Bulldogs were on top 14-13 after the opening eight minutes, 34-29 at intermission and 49-43 heading into the final quarter.

“I am proud of our kids and how they kept fighting,” said St. Anthony coach Aaron Rios. “It is an awesome time for The Sisterhood culture, our kids, parents, fans and St. Anthony.”

Altamont’s Grace Nelson pumped in a game-high 32 points and Peyton Osteen added 13. Both girls, who were also on the all-tourney team, knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the fourth period to keep the Lady Indians close. But Vonderheide scored eight points and both Ruholl and freshman Addie Lauritzen added five more to help St. Anthony secure the win down the stretch.

The Lady Indians, the No. 4-ranked Class 1A team in the state, dipped to 21-3 on the season. They will travel to Teutopolis on Tuesday night.

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 18-6. They will return home Monday night to face South Central in a National Trail Conference contest.

In other games Saturday, Windsor/Stew-Stras defeated South Central 57-41 in the seventh-place game; Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City beat Neoga 61-43 in the consolation championship; and Brownstown/St. Elmo topped Dieterich 62-38 in the third-place contest.

The St. Anthony Bulldogs have been tabbed the No. 1 seed for the 88^th annual National Trail Conference Boys Basketball Tournament, which will be played next week at Altamont High School.

Due to bad weather conditions Monday, tournament games will now be played Tuesday through Saturday, Jan. 23-27.

The host Altamont Indians are the No. 2 seed. The remaining top four seeds are No. 3 Dieterich and No. 4 St. Elmo/Brownstown (SEB). The other schools are No. 5 North Clay, No. 6 South Central, No. 7 Windsor/Strew-Stras (WSS), No. 8 Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City (CHBC) and No. 9 Neoga.

Here is the new tournament schedule:

Tuesday, Jan. 23

Game 1 -- 5 p.m. -- CHBC vs. Neoga

Game 4 -- 6:30 p.m. -- Altamont vs. WSS

Game 5 -- Dieterich vs. South Central

Wednesday, Jan. 24

Game 2 – 6:15 p.m. – St. Anthony vs. Winner Game 1

Game 3 – 7:45 p.m. – SEB vs. North Clay

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The St. Anthony Bulldogs’ 20^th win of the season was an impressive one.

The state’s top-ranked Class 1A team posted an 81-75 victory at home Saturday over St. Joe-Ogden.

The Spartans’ Tanner Jacob scored 10 of his 27 points in the opening eight minutes, helping the guests build a 23-14 lead. But the Bulldogs came alive in the second quarter. Brady Hatton and Collin Westendorf both scored eight points, igniting a 25-11 scoring surge that put St. Anthony on top, 39-34, as the two teams headed to the locker room at intermission.

The game remained close throughout the second half. The hosts led 55-46 heading into the fourth quarter and then converted 21-of-22 free throws in the final eight minutes to secure the win. Brock Fearday went 6-for-6 and Nick Ruholl was 4-for-4 from the line and Westendorf knocked down 9-of-10 free throws to help the Bulldogs maintain their lead.

Westendorf scored a game-high 30 points, with 14 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Fearday had 16 and Hatton added 12.

The Bulldogs improved to 20-4 on the season. Their next game will be in the National Trail Conference Tournament. They will face either Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City or Neoga at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. The tournament is played at Altamont High School.

The St. Anthony Bulldogs went on a 43-23 scoring spree over the middle two quarters Friday, en route to a 70-47 National Trail Conference road victory over Windsor/Stew-Stras.

With Connor Manhart knocking down four three-pointers, the host Hatchets stayed with the Bulldogs during the opening eight minutes. It was 14-14 heading into the second period.

But that’s when St. Anthony began to take control. Brock Fearday scored nine points and Collin Westendorf added seven more, as the Bulldogs went on a 23-7 run to take a 37-21 lead to the locker room at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, it was a 20-point spread, 57-37.

Manhart finished with 20 points for WSS.

Fearday tied for game scoring honors, also pumping in 20 points, but he was just one of four Bulldogs in double figures. Max Koenig scored 14 points, while Ryan Schmidt and Westendorf added 12 and 11 points respectively.

The state’s Class 1A top-ranked Bulldogs improved to 19-4 overall and 6-0 in the NTC. They will return to action tonight (Saturday) at home against St. Joe-Ogden.