CENTRAL, JACKSON HOPE FOR HEALTHY DISTRICT SHOWINGS

In sports, there are two kinds of adversity.

The kind that makes a team stronger and the kind that's stronger than the team.

Jackson girls basketball coach Ron Cook is hoping that his team's adversity has made the Lady Indians more effective and confident.

Cape Central coach Mark Ruark is hoping his team has enough pieces left to last another day.

With the Class 4A, District 1 tournament beginning Tuesday night, how both teams handle their adversity will ultimately decide if they will play for the district championship on Thursday.

Central, the third seed, will take on No. 2 Poplar Bluff at 7:30 p.m.

No. 1 Jackson will battle No. 4 Farmington at 6.

In Jackson's case, its misfortune occurred the moment the mononucleosis virus attacked Andrea Koeper's immune system. The young Lady Indians were built around the senior all-stater. Koeper leads the team in scoring, can play all five positions and has started since her sophomore year.

So in the week-and-a-half span when Koeper lost 15 pounds, the Lady Indians lost about 17 points per game, their best ball-handler, rebounder and leader. And ultimately, they lost two games. But Jackson also won two games in that span, including a gritty victory over Cape Central.

When she was gone, "You put her out of your mind and maybe expect her not to come back," said Cook. "It made some of the other kids step up and use their talents. The other girls are stepping up and we're getting more from our bench. I hope it makes us a better team.

"As a coach, you hope something like this never happens, but you have to draw some positives."

In Koeper's absence, Jenna Leet and Whitney Werner, especially, have taken on larger roles on the offensive end. Others have picked up their scoring as well and Cook hopes that because others have been forced to do more things that they'll be more confident in the district tournament.

Cook said he expects Koeper to be near 100 percent by Tuesday night. The key, he said, is for her to get back in shape.

"I think she's steadily getting better," he said. "She came through a hard practice on Tuesday and 2 1/2 quarters on Thursday."

Keeping HealthSouth busy

While Jackson lost arguably the best overall player in Southeast Missouri, Central at one point or the other has lost almost everyone in its starting lineup.

In the Lady Tigers' case, it's not a matter of players increasing their roles; it's a matter of players changing their roles.

Because Central has had so many injuries six of its eight top varsity players have missed either games or practice time with injuries the Lady Tigers won't even have their team photo in the district tournament program because so many faces have changed since the beginning of the season.

The Lady Tigers will have to play Tuesday night without Megan McDonald (sprained ankle), the only true point guard on the team. Kate Richards played Thursday night, returning from a knee injury but she was a bit rusty after missing so much time.

Katie Dougherty, Central's most versatile and consistent player, has played tentatively since popping her shoulder out of joint against Jackson.

"It's certainly understandable," said Ruark. "But we're not going to win if Katie's playing tentatively. We're going to need Katie and Heather (Jenkins) to dominate inside."

Of the remaining uninjured players, Dougherty is Central's best "point guard". But Dougherty is needed as an inside presence.

Central has only played four games with its original starting lineup.

"In our case, we've had so many injuries, we haven't had continuity because we haven't had everybody together in practice," Ruark said. "Every time we have an injury and kids step up we have another injury and we have to change roles again."

Ruark believes his team has handled the adversity as well as it could. And if anything good has come from the rash of injuries, it's the development of a couple of sophomore players, Vicky Wilson and Anna Brisso.

Who's No. 1?

Though top-seeded Jackson (17-6) is a talented team and could very well end up district champion, Poplar Bluff is the team to beat.

It's odd that Poplar Bluff ended up the second seed considering the Lady Mules have a better record, 22-2, a higher state ranking (third, while Jackson is 10th) and a better recent history than Jackson. Bluff has won the last four HealthSouth tournaments and is the defending district champ and state runner-up.

Jackson defeated the Lady Mules recently, 55-46, but Poplar Bluff beat the Lady Indians 50-43 in the championship game of the HealthSouth Holiday Classic.

Recent common opponents would also suggest that Poplar Bluff should've got the top seed as the Lady Mules beat Doniphan in a close game, while the Donnettes defeated Jackson rather handily.