HEALTHSOUTH HOLIDAY CLASSIC SHOULD AGAIN PROVIDE THRILLS

By all accounts, last year's inaugural HealthSouth Holiday Classic featuring most of the area's top high school girls basketball teams was a major success.

Jackson knocked off Cape Girardeau Central 46-40 in a thrilling championship game, setting the stage for the Lady Indians' exciting march all the way to the Class 4A state championship game.

And Notre Dame, which finished fifth in the tournament, advanced all the way to the Class 2A state championship contest.

"It was a great tournament last year," said Jackson coach Ron Cook. "There were so many good teams involved."

Which should again be the case when the second annual HealthSouth Holiday Classic is held this week at the Show Me Center.

The eight-team tournament will get under way Tuesday. Semifinal action will take place Wednesday, with the finals set for Friday. There will be four games each day.

Poplar Bluff, which returned quite a bit of talent from last year's team that lost to Jackson in the 4A district final, is the No. 1 seed.

Jackson, which was hit hard by graduation but still has plenty of talented players back from last year's standout squad, is seeded second.

Notre Dame, which returned a host of key players from a year ago, is seeded third.

Cape Central, which was hit hard by graduation but has been impressive during the early going this year -- the Lady Tigers already own a win over Notre Dame -- gained the fourth seed.

Perryville is seeded fifth, with Scott County Central sixth, Scott City seventh and Kelly eighth.

The eight tourney teams have a combined record of 35-6, with Poplar Bluff (5-0), Jackson (4-0) and Scott City (5-0) all undefeated. Every squad has a winning record.

Tuesday's opening round will feature Poplar Bluff vs. Kelly at 4 p.m., Cape Central vs. Perryville at 5:30, Jackson vs. Scott City at 7 and Notre Dame vs. Scott County Central at 8:30.

Consolation semifinals will be played at 4 p.m. and 5:30 Wednesday, with the championship semifinals at 7 and 8:30.

Friday's final round will feature the seventh-place game at 4 p.m., the fifth-place contest at 5:30, the third-place game at 7 and the championship matchup at 8:30.

In addition to Jackson's exciting overtime win over Cape Central in last year's championship game, Poplar Bluff beat Perryville 67-41 for third place, Notre Dame edged Scott City 35-32 for fifth and Kelly downed Scott County Central 50-47 for seventh.

HealthSouth Holiday Classic

(Show Me Center)

Tuesday's Games

(Seeds in parentheses)

4 p.m. -- (1) Poplar Bluff vs. (8) Kelly

5:30 p.m. -- (4) Cape Central vs. (5) Perryville

7 p.m. -- (2) Jackson vs. (7) Scott City

8:30 p.m. (3) Notre Dame vs. (6) Scott County

Wednesday's Games

4 p.m. -- Consolation semifinal

5:30 p.m. -- Consolation semifinal

7 p.m. -- Championship semifinal

8:30 p.m. -- Championship semifinal

Friday's Games

4 p.m. -- Seventh place

5:30 p.m. -- Fifth place

7 p.m. -- Third place

8:30 p.m. -- Championship