CHS GIRLS SUCCUMB TO 4A's TOP TEAM

Cape Central, Jackson and Poplar Bluff, the Class 4A giants in Southeast Missouri, were all anxious to see exactly how good Parkway West was.

It turned out that the top-ranked team in Class 4A -- a team which has two Division I recruits -- is not that much better than an injury-riddled Cape Central squad.

But the Longhorns (14-1) were able to pull away late and avoid the upset as they knocked off the Lady Tigers (7-6) in a 54-42 win Saturday in the first game of the Lady Bulldog Shootout at Notre Dame High School.

The game was close throughout -- Central trailed just 40-36 with five minutes left -- but a lack of depth and some poor free-throw shooting hurt the Lady Tigers.

"I thought going in that for us to win the ballgame with the injuries we had, we would need to play a perfect game," said Central coach Mark Ruark. "Some things just didn't go right. But I was very proud of the girls. I wanted them to leave it all out on the floor and they did."

The Lady Tigers were playing without their two centers -- Heather Jenkins and Katie Richards. Both could be back in a week or so, pending an MRI result on Richards' knee.

Central led 15-14 after the first quarter and with 3:29 to go in the second quarter, the Lady Tigers owned a 22-20 lead. But that would be their last as the Lady Tigers committed all three of their second-quarter turnovers in the final two minutes and Parkway West ended the half on a 7-0 run to take a 27-22 lead into halftime. Central trailed 36-30 going into the fourth quarter.

Parkway West didn't reach a double-figure lead until the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter when Central started fouling and forcing shots to try to get back into the game. Central missed five of their seven free-throws in the fourth quarter which didn't help either.

With Jenkins and Richards out, Katie Dougherty -- Central's leading scorer had to play a different defensive position and she fouled out at the 3:29 mark with only two points.

But Central's freshman point guard Megan McDonald took charge with 16 points and seemed to be the only player able to create her own shot. Sara Hyslop added 14 points.

Parkway West's 6-foot-1 center Emily Jaskowiak led the Longhorns with 18 points, including nine coming after Dougherty fouled out.

The Longhorns' Dionnah Jackson, who has been recruited by Oklahoma, finished the game with 10 points.

Central shot well in the first half, making 50 percent of its shots, but the Lady Tigers' fortunes turned southward in the second half as the Lady Tigers only made only 29 percent of their shots.