Despite early exits, large schools had big seasons

Despite being shut out of the state basketball playoffs, local Class 5 schools once again had standout seasons.

Jackson's boys and girls teams combined for 45 wins. The boys' 22-5 season matched their highest win total since 1993, when the team went 22-4 under Steve Burk. Included in those 22 wins for Jackson were three wins over rival Central, an upset of Charleston, a win over state-ranked Scott City and a Christmas Tournament win over Bell City.

After a rough first year taking over for Burk, who spent 20 years at the helm for Jackson and racked up six 20-win seasons, Jackson coach Mike Kiehne has put together a 36-17 record over the past two seasons. Kiehne's three-year mark at Jackson stands at 44-35.

With two of his top three scorers coming back, Kiehne said he's looking forward to continuing their winning ways.

"We have a lot to live up to," Kiehne said. "Hopefully we can build on it."

Jackson's girls surpassed last year's win total, racking up a 23-4 mark. Besides two losses to district-winner Poplar Bluff, Jackson's other losses came to St. Joseph's Academy and Duchesne, two of the top ranked teams in Class 4 and 5. In coach Sam Sides' first year as head coach, Jackson won its first HealthSouth Classic since 1996 and finished third at the Ameritime Classic Tournament won by St. Joseph's Academy.

Central's boys team may have ended the season on a sour note, losing to Jackson in the semifinals of the district tournament, but the Tigers still managed to win 17 games. Central also finished with its first back-to-back winning seasons since 1996-97 and took home three second-place trophies.

Unfortunately, the Tigers season was marred by the suspension of three starters with eight games remaining on the regular-season schedule. Central was 14-3 at the time of the suspension and was coming off its first Christmas Tournament finals appearance since 1996. The trio missed the remainder of the season, and the Tigers went 3-6 down the stretch.

"To go 17-9 that's a heck of a feat for a team that could have folded up," McCord said. "Hopefully they learned a lesson in how to handle adversity."

Abner headed to Shawnee C.C.Bell City all-state volleyball player Whitney Abner is headed to Shawnee Community College to play volleyball.

Abner was a big part of Bell City's Class 1 state championship team this season, posting 580 assists. Abner had 32 assists and 11 digs in Bell City's three-game championship win over Lockwood.

College notes

Quincy University's women's basketball team continued its best season in program history on Saturday with a 79-49 win over Wisconsin-Parkside. Quincy, ranked 14th in Division II, finished the regular season 23-4 and won its first Great Lakes Valley Conference championship since joining the conference in 1995-96. Notre Dame graduate Deana McCormick and Central graduate Alex Wieser have each made strong contributions this season. McCormick, a sophomore, averages five points a game and is fourth on the team in rebounds averaging 3.5. Wieser, a freshman, averages 4.2 points. Quincy will face SIU-Edwardsville on Thursday in the opening round of the conference tournament in Evansville, Ind.

n Central Missouri State University freshman Ashley Millham, a Notre Dame graduate, has helped the Jennies to a 15-12 record while averaging 11.7 points a game. Millham, CSU's starting point guard, leads the team with 132 assists and is third on the team with a 102 rebounds. In conference play, Millham averaged more than 13 points while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. Millham's older sister Lisa, a sophomore for the Jennies, averages 5.9 points. Central Missouri will play Northwest Missouri State University in the opening round of the MIAA tournament Thursday in Kansas City.