Indians' Keith repeats late feat vs. ND

~ Jackson girls follow the boys' victory blueprint in a thrilling 49-47 win over the Bulldogs.

Jackson senior Kelci Keith attended the Jackson at Notre Dame boys basketball game Jan. 11, when her classmate Jake Leet swished a 17-foot jumper with 8 seconds left to beat the Bulldogs.

She thought that game-winning shot was exciting.

Little did she know that the next time the Indians and Bulldogs girls teams played each other, she would do the same thing Leet did.

With the Jackson girls down one point with 10 seconds remaining Thursday night, Keith nailed a deep 3-pointer and the Indians came away with a 49-47 win.

"I was hoping it goes in," she said. "It felt great. And it looked good going in."

Keith led her team with 19 points, going 7-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-7 on 3-pointers.

The Indians lead the season series 2-1 after Thursday's victory. The two teams played each other for the first time this season in the Farmington Tournament, with the Indians winning by 15 points. They met again in the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic, with the Bulldogs posting a 18-point victory.

Keith said Thursday's win was an important one because it broke a three-game losing streak during which the Indians struggled shooting the basketball.

Keith, who also plays on the Jackson softball team, added that shooting is something her team has focused on during practice lately.

"[Shooting] felt better," Keith said. "We practiced a lot the past few days because we haven't been hitting anything. We've been shooting, shooting and shooting."

Notre Dame jumped on top early, taking a 7-2 advantage 3 minutes, 13 seconds into the contest. The Bulldogs led 15-8 after the first period.

Notre Dame extended its lead early in the second quarter, going on a 7-2 run in the first couple of minutes to take a 22-10 lead.

But the Indians began to step up their shooting and got back into the contest thanks to Keith and Jackson junior Ashten Howard.

The two players helped the Indians on a 17-5 run the rest of the quarter, with Keith and Howard combining to score all of their team's 17 points.

Keith nailed three 3-pointer and one 2-pointer. Howard netted two 3-pointers.

The teams entered halftime tied 27-27.

"I just felt it," Keith said about her second-quarter shooting.

"[Howard] came to play, too," Keith said. "She was ready, and she shot when she needed to."

Keith found herself in some foul trouble throughout the game. She had four fouls entering the fourth quarter, so she was not as productive in the second half.

She was without a second-half basket before her big shot.

But her team stuck with the Bulldogs, getting offense from Howard and Cody Goodpasture, who combined for 13 second-half points. The two helped Jackson remain in the game late.

Howard, who scored 18 points, said she was not at the game when Leet hit his game-winner, but Thursday's dramatic ending was good enough for her.

"Coach [Sam Sides] told us not to throw the ball away first off and take our time and somebody's got to shoot it," Howard said, discussing the timeout before Keith's game-winning shot. "Whenever you are open, you've got to shoot. So Kelci got that good shot off. She makes those kinds all the time, so I thought it would go in, and I got excited."

Notre Dame 15 12 9 11 -- 47

Jackson 8 19 10 12 -- 49

Notre Dame (47) -- Alex Fowler 8, Emily Brumitt 13, Jane Morrill 10, Erika Reinagel 4, Paige Schumer 10, Allyson Bradshaw 2. FG 19, FT 4-6, F 13 (3-pointers: Fowler 2, Brumitt 3. Fouled out: none)

Jackson (49) -- Kaylen Knepp 1, Cody Goodpasture 4, Cassandra Bollinger 3, Ashten Howard 18, Whitney McNeely 4, Kelci Keith 19. FG 18, FT 5-8, F 13 (3-pointers: Howard 3, Keith 5. Fouled out: none)