Dexter, Sikeston girls basketball teams headline district tourney field

Dexter pulled out a 55-50 victory over Sikeston in a barnburner last week, providing a glimpse at what the top two teams in this week's Class 4 District 1 girls basketball tournament might have to offer.

There's plenty of parity among the rest of the field as well.

Fourth-seeded Central (8-17) and fifth-seeded Kennett (12-12) will get the tournament started 4 p.m. today at the Sikeston Field House, followed by a game between No. 3 Notre Dame (7-16) and No. 6 Perryville (8-16) at 5:30 p.m.

Notre Dame finished runner-up a year ago but lost all five starters, and coach Renee Peters understands her squad isn't among the tournament's elite this time around.

"We've been playing better the last few games, so I'm really looking forward going into this, experience-wise, for my girls to kind of see what it's going to take," Peters said. "Anything could happen. At this point, you shudder to make any predictions, obviously. ... The teams we have in this district, if they're on, it's going to be a battle.

"Every coach is just hoping when they step on the floor that their girls are ready to play that night."

Peters understands her team is young but believes "youth can be a double-edged sword."

"It can be one of those things where ignorance is bliss, or you could be hell-fire bent on proving to the world that you deserve to be there," Peters said. "We're going in hoping that at this point of the game, these girls know that they have nothing to lose. We're not picked to win it, so anything we do above and beyond what we're expected to do will be a moral victory for us."

The winner between Notre Dame and Perryville will face No. 2 Sikeston (19-5) in a semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Notre Dame enters the postseason with back-to-back wins, including a 57-53 win over visiting Poplar Bluff in the regular-season finale. Peters said she was encouraged by her players' performance against the Mules.

Notre Dame's Faith Essner drives to the basket as Sikeston's Tyeshia Mitchell defends during the second quarter of the third-place game in the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic last December at the Show Me Center. If seedings hold, Notre Dame and Sikeston will meet in Tuesday's district semifinal. (Fred Lynch)

"We had a couple good quarters. We were able to get the ball inside, which we haven't been able to do much this year," Peters said about the game. "... Once the experience matches up with some of these girls' abilities, it's going to be a whole different look. I'm looking forward to taking these girls into the district and letting them get a feel for it. It's a different mindset. It's a different practice schedule, a different everything, and there's no fear at this point.

"We know who we're going up against. We've had some successful quarters against some of these teams that we've played, so if we can put together four quarters, who knows what can happen. It's just an exciting time for these ladies, and you know it's going to pay dividends in the future."

Top-seeded Dexter (15-9), the tournament's defending champion, will square off against either Central or Kennett in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Central is riding a two-game skid, but coach Sherri Shirrell understands no team is safe in the playoffs.

"On any given night, anybody can win the ball game, so it's up in the air for anybody, I think," Shirrell said. "Dexter, of course, is always strong and so is Sikeston, but on any given night, anything could happen."

The Tigers suffered a 76-52 loss in their season finale against host St. Clair, but Shirrell said there were a number of positives to take away from the game.

"I felt like we played one of our better games that we've played in a while," Shirrell said. "We've been up-and-down all year. We've played really, really well on nights, and then there's been nights where we've turned around and played not as well. But I thought my kids, up against a pretty tough team that shot the ball extremely well, we came out and executed some things."

Shirrell said her team dug a big hole early against St. Clair but remained competitive. She said getting off to a fast start will be a point of emphasis this week.

"We're very capable of doing that on any given night, so hopefully they come out and are ready to go," Shirrell said.

The championship will take place 6 p.m. Friday.

Class 5 District 1

Jackson's Cassidi Tomsu takes a shot during the third quarter of the championship game in the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic last December at the Show Me Center. Tomsu and the top-seeded Indians will take on fourth-seeded Poplar Bluff in a district semifinal at 7 p.m. today in Arnold, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Jackson will face a familiar foe in its postseason opener.

Fourth-seeded Poplar Bluff (7-17) defeated fifth-seeded Seckman (5-19) in a 63-54 decision Saturday and will face No. 1 Jackson (16-9) in the playoffs for the 18th time since 1990. The two teams will square off 7 p.m. today at Fox High School in Arnold, Missouri.

"I think the field's very, very even," Jackson coach Tyler Abernathy said. "... We'll play Bluff in the first game. That's a 1-4 matchup that obviously Bluff beat us earlier in the year.

"I just kind of think by looking at the scores and the seedings, you can tell that pretty much every team is in the same boat, and the team that plays the best for two nights is probably the team that ends up winning the district."

Fox defeated Jackson 51-47 for last year's title, marking the first time since 1990 that neither the Indians nor the Mules were crowned district champions.

Jackson suffered a 57-52 home loss to Poplar Bluff early last month, and Abernathy understands the Mules' .292 winning percentage is not indicative of the team.

"Bluff can be kind of deceiving with their record. They really are a good basketball team," Abernathy said. "They're a well-coached team. They're very physical, and they play hard. They run coach [Kirk] Chronister's offenses well. I think sometimes we can see a record, and it can be misleading. ... We respect their program, and by playing them that first time, it really kind of sharpens your focus."

Second-seeded Fox (17-8) will face third-seeded Northwest (8-17) in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. today. The championship is slated for 5 p.m. Thursday.

Abernathy said his players have battled injuries that have forced some abrupt lineup changes, but he likes what he's seen from his squad over the past month.

"Even the games that we lost, I felt like we played hard and just maybe didn't execute as well. I really feel like we're playing our best right now," Abernathy said. "... You just go out there and play as hard as you can. You enjoy the game and have fun. If you do that, you put yourself in a chance to be successful. That's really where our focus has been the last couple of weeks."