CHS GIRLS UPEND NOTRE DAME

Lady Tigers prevail 37-32 in battle of Cape.

Forty-three turnovers between two teams is enough to make any coach's stomach, well, turn over.

But Lady Tigers' head coach Darrick Smith probably rested a bit easier than Notre Dame head coach Jerry Grim did Wednesday night after Cape Girardeau Central made fewer blunders in an ugly 37-32 win over the visiting Lady Bulldogs.

Notre Dame -- which turned the ball over 24 times -- somehow managed to keep within striking distance.

The Lady Bulldogs (3-3) pulled to within 35-32 with 1:36 left on a basket by junior center Jessica Seratti, but three turnovers -- including one in the open court that led to an easy layup for Central junior guard Dionna Webb -- disallowed a comeback.

"Every time we'd get on a little run, we'd give the ball back to them," Grim said. "It's just stupid little things that we're doing right now that we've got to get out of the habit of."

"Neither team looked very sharp," Smith said. "There were some missed shots that shouldn't have been missed and some bad passes that shouldn't have been made. There were just some poor decisions by both teams."

Central led by as many as 10 with 2:02 left in the second quarter, after Kim Aslinger -- a 5-foot-7 senior guard who scored a team-high 13 points -- personally took control of the game, scoring six points in a span of 20 seconds.

But Central (4-1) -- which led 25-18 at halftime -- failed to put the game away and allowed Notre Dame to close the gap to 27-25 midway through the third quarter.

"When you get that opportunity to take control of the game, you've got to take it," Smith said. "We just kind of went in spurts and weren't consistent. We've got to get more consistent.

"I'm not disappointed with our effort. It's just that some of our decision-making (wasn't good), and simply not taking care of the ball and not capitalizing when we did make a good play."

Speaking of capitalizing, sophomore guard Ashlie Voerg took advantage of her playing time, scoring seven points and impressing her coach off the bench.

"She picked us up and really and got some buckets when we needed them," Smith said. "She came up with some free throws and some big steals. She just really hustled and played hard."

During the final 19 possessions in the game -- a span which covered about four minutes -- there were 14 turnovers between the two teams.

The hideous performance -- especially against Notre Dame's cross-town rivals -- frustrated Grim.

"I think we're capable of beating them," Grim said. "We've got to cut down on our turnovers. They killed us."

Smith, meanwhile, will take the win, despite the manner in which it was obtained.

"We're glad to win at home," Smith said. "Anytime you win, it's the best thing. We may have just lost a little confidence in ourselves in some of the things that we do and we have to get that back. We're capable of playing good basketball and these kids know it. It's just a matter of putting it together."