Kraus, a dazzling point guard, scored 11 of her team-high 20 points in the third quarter when the Rockets took control in their 55-50 victory over the Panthers in the semifinals of the Highland Girls Basketball Tournament.

Kraus was 5-for-6 from the field in the period, including a 3-pointer. What had been a 26-all tie turned into a 46-37 advantage for Okawville heading into the fourth quarter.

“This is a big one for us,” Kraus said. “We knew coming into it that it was going to be competitive. We beat them twice last year, so we knew we had to make a point. We stayed calm, we slowed down when we needed to, took the wide-open shots and contested shots. It went well, for sure.”

Kraus said the mood was upbeat coming out of the locker room at halftime.

“Our coach (Haylee Bowers) pushed us for that third quarter,” Kraus said. “We know coming out that teams are going to make adjustments at halftime. We’ve got to make adjustments, too. It’s a big quarter for us. Every game, we try to focus on that third quarter. We came out ready for it.”

Senior Briley Rhodes and junior Madisyn Obermeier added 12 points apiece for the Rockets (20-3), who will play Alton (22-0) in the title game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The Redbirds defeated Okawville 58-53 in the semifinals of the Mascoutah Invitational on Dec. 28. Okawville placed second in Highland last year, falling to Civic Memorial in the final after beating O’Fallon.

”We want to get them back,” Kraus said of facing Alton again. “It will be fun. It will be a competitive game. They have great athletes, so it will be a good one for us.”

O’Fallon (20-4) will meet Mater Dei (16-4) in the third-place game at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Panthers’ leading scorer against Okawville was senior Shannon Dowell with 22 points. Senior Jailah Pelly finished with 15 points.

Panthers coach Nick Knolhoff lauded the Rockets, particularly Kraus.

“They’re a team that for some reason people overlook, but I have absolutely never overlooked them,” Knolhoff said. “They have five girls on the court that play the entire game. They rarely sub. They’re so smart with the basketball, and I tell you what, that Kraus girl is a heck of a player. We scouted them really well, but her ability to score off the dribble and create her own shot is tough to guard.

“It got away from us there in the third quarter. The first word that comes to me about (Kraus) is just composure on the court. It doesn’t matter the score or the pressure situation. She’s under control and nothing affects her. She doesn’t look at the crowd and basically just plays basketball. She’s a prime-time player.”

Defensively, Okawville relied on a 2-3 zone that encouraged O’Fallon to go away from its main strength — getting the ball to the 5-foot-10 Dowell in the post.

Even when the Panthers did get Dowell the ball, she was double-teamed and had difficulty getting clean looks at the rim. She finished 6-for-19 from the field.

“We changed up some stuff and decided to a 2-3,” Bowers said. “They’re such a great team; they’re so athletic and well-coached. I wanted to try to throw something new at them. My girls bought into it and said, ‘OK, we’re going to play a tough 2-3.’ It worked out in our favor. I’m proud of my girls. They wanted it really bad and went for it.”

Obermeier put the Rockets on firm footing in the first quarter, hitting three of the four 3-pointers she collected in the game. Her third 3, which came with 24 seconds left in the quarter, put Okawville ahead 15-11 and prompted an O’Fallon timeout.

Okawville’s lead was 26-23 at halftime. Pelly hit a 3-pointer to start the third quarter for the Panthers, tying the contest at 26. It was tied at 28 when Kraus began her torrid stretch with a 3-pointer with 6 minutes and 40 seconds left in the period. Senior Megan Rennegarbe followed with a jumper in the lane to make it 33-28.

The Panthers recovered to within 33-32 on baskets by Pelly and Dowell, but Rennegarbe scored again to make it 35-32. Kraus then converted out of a scramble and Obermeier hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game to make it 40-32.

After junior Ma’Chilah Vinson answered with a 3-pointer for the Panthers, Kraus scored on back-to-back trips, then finished a driving layup that made it 46-37.

The lead grew to 12 in the fourth quarter.

“She can turn it on when she wants to,” Bowers said of Kraus. “It really helped us out. It fires us up. She’s only a junior, so she has a lot of growing to do.”

Bowers said Alton will test Okawville in every facet of the game.

“Alton’s a very good ballclub. We’re ready to play them,” she said. “We’re going to try some things and see if we can pull it out. I think we’ll give the same effort. We’re going to come ready Saturday and see what we can do.”