Scoring first in overtime was going to be important.
Helias and Camdenton were tied at 60 heading into the extra period Monday night in the Class 4 District 10 Tournament semifinals at Capital City High School. The Lady Crusaders wanted to be the team to get on the board first.
They did on their way to a 70-62 victory to advance to Thursday night's district title game.
"That was huge, that made the whole rest of overtime easier because we were in the lead," Helias junior Kylie Bernskoetter said. "We didn't have to worry about getting the ball back and rushing any shots.
"We had a chance to relax."
Helias won the tap, knocking it to Lindsey Byers in the front court. Byers then whipped a pass to Bernskoetter under the basket for a layup and the Lady Crusaders led just five seconds into the extra period.
"We would have liked to have it tipped a little further, but it worked out," Helias coach Alan Lepper said.
The Lady Crusaders scored the first 10 points of overtime to advance to Thursday's championship game against Boonville. The top-seeded Lady Pirates downed School of the Osage 61-19 in Monday night's second semifinal.
"This group is resilient," Lepper said. "We're on a mission right now and that mission is to win a district championship."
After going 8-of-16 from the line in the second half, the Lady Crusaders converted all eight of their attempts in overtime, as Bernskoetter and Lainy Lamb both went 4-of-4.
The first half was played at a sprinter's pace. Helias led by as many as six points early, that coming when a layup by Byers made it 12-6 midway through the first quarter. Camdenton then rattled off a 13-2 run during the next three minutes on its way to a 21-18 advantage at the end of the quarter.
"The pace of the game played into our hands at times; at times, it didn't," Lepper said.
Camdenton committed seven turnovers in the first quarter, but the Lakers were helped by a strong rebounding performance that resulted in several second- and third-chance scoring opportunities.
"One of the things that was killing us early were second-chance points," Lepper said. "We had to do a better job on the boards."
Camdenton outrebounded Helias 12-5 in the first quarter, but cut that deficit to 16-14 at the half.
Helias grabbed the lead back with a 9-2 start to the second quarter that made it 27-23. The two teams swapped points the rest of the quarter as the Lady Crusaders took a 41-37 advantage into halftime.
Camdenton opened the third quarter with a 6-2 spurt to tie the game at 43 on its way to taking a 54-51 lead into the fourth.
Rylee Kolb hit a pair of free throws just seven seconds into the fourth quarter to pull Helias to within a point. Camdenton then held the ball for two minutes before turning it over.
On the ensuing possession, Emily Harrison of Helias hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Lady Crusaders the lead before Elle Turner of the Lady Lakers answered with one of her own to put Camdenton back on top with four minutes left in regulation.
After Byers hit a free throw to tie it at 57, Bernskoetter gave the Lady Crusaders the lead on a bucket off a pass from Harrison with 2:35 on the clock. Lamb made a free throw with 1:08 left to give Helias a 60-57 lead.
Camdenton tied it with :41.7 remaining on a three-point play by Biance Stocks. Helias looked to hold the ball for the last shot, but was called for traveling with :35.7 left. Camdenton then held it for a last shot, but it rolled off the rim as time expired to send the game to overtime knotted at 60.
There wasn't any deep strategy session during the short break before overtime.
"Take a deep breath, get a drink, get composed and we'll take it from there," Lepper said.
And they did, as the Lady Crusaders advanced to their first district tournament championship game since winning the crown in 2016.
Stocks finished with a game-high 29 points for second-seeded Camdenton (18-8). Payton Kincaid added 15.
"They made it a tough ballgame, that's a great program we played tonight," Lepper said.
Bernskoetter finished with 27 points for Helias after scoring a school-record 37 in Saturday's district opening win against Capital City.
"I've progressed throughout the season and my teammates have done a great job of passing me the ball and making things work," Bernskoetter said.
Byers added 14 for the Lady Crusaders. Alisha Berhorst, a senior, came off the bench to add 11.
"She's a kid that just makes plays, she didn't want this to be her last game," Lepper said.
The title game between third-seeded Helias (14-12) and Boonville (22-3) is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday.