BLUFF STRANGLES CAPE CENTRAL TO WIN HEALTHSOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP

Even the HealthSouth trainers couldn't prevent a death by suffocation Wednesday night.

Poplar Bluff's defense didn't allow Cape Central any room to breathe much less run its offense as the Lady Mules executed the Lady Tigers 51-37 in the championship game of the HealthSouth Holiday Classic.

The Lady Mules captured their third straight HealthSouth Classic in convincing fashion, winning their two games by 16 and 14 points, respectively.

And defense is what did the trick.

"Our gameplan was to keep the pressure on and not let them cram it down our throat, which they are capable of doing," said Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister, whose sixth-ranked Lady Mules improved to 9-1 on the season. "I think defensively our kids are playing well. Offensively, we've been inconsistent, but defensively we've been strong all year."

Central (8-2) held its own through the first quarter, heading into the second quarter tied at 6.

But the Lady Tigers collapsed under the pressure in the second quarter, turning the ball over nine times, including the first five possessions.

"The second quarter killed us," said Central coach Darrick Smith. "Nine turnovers in a quarter is tough to recover from. Then right off the bat in the third, they get some easy baskets."

The Lady Tigers didn't even get a shot off for almost the first three minutes of the second quarter.

Central went into halftime facing a 22-14 deficit, but the Lady Mules' offense started to pick up in the third. Poplar Bluff led by as many as 18 points in that period and held a 37-23 edge going into the fourth.

Poplar Bluff looked to have complete control of the game, leading 39-26 with 4:05 left, but Central suddenly became more assertive and went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 39-31 with 3:25 remaining.

"If we would've played with the same intensity of the last four minutes for the whole game, it would've been a different ballgame," said Smith. "We got a little passive and timid."

Chronister agreed.

"It wasn't so much what we didn't do as it was what they started doing," Chronister said of Central's fourth-quarter run. "Cape started playing more aggressive and forced us into some mistakes."

Nicole Rivers led Poplar Bluff with 12 points, followed by Sara Lawson's 10.

Katie Dougherty scored 11 to lead Central, while Dionna Webb added 10.

Both teams got out to horrible starts offensively.

The two teams combined to make just four of 23 shots in the first quarter.

The Lady Tigers, whose strongest point this season has been their shooting, didn't make any 3-point shots. After shooting 57 percent in its 60-57 overtime win in the semifinals on Tuesday night, Central shot just 35 percent (13 of 37) from the field Wednesday night.

Poplar Bluff shot 37 percent on 16 of 43 from the field.

• The following players were named to the HealthSouth Holiday Classic all-tournament team: Melissa Lillie of Massac County, Andrea Koeper and Cherish Tillman of Jackson; Katie Dougherty, Dionna Webb and Sarah Hyslop of Cape Central; Deana McCormick and Lisa Millham of Notre Dame; and Erika Emmons and Likicia Hawes of Poplar Bluff.