JACKSON COMES UP SHORT AGAIN; WEST PLAINS BOMBS LADY INDIANS 52-36 FOR 4A TITLE

COLUMBIA -- Been there. Done that.

In a scene all too familiar for fans of Jackson High's girls basketball team, the Lady Indians dropped their third straight Class 4A state championship game Saturday at the Hearnes Center.

This time, in the state's first-ever televised girls final, the West Plains Lady Zizzers kept Jackson from its ultimate goal of the past three years.

West Plains, making its first-ever appearance at the Show-Me Showdown Championships, didn't show any initial jitters in the title game. The Lady Zizzers led from start to finish, shooting a dazzling 58 percent from the field (19 of 33), in claiming the 4A title with a 52-36 victory.

"We were outplayed in a lot of respects," said Jackson senior Christa Millham. "We don't make excuses for losing, we just take it. You could make a million-and-one excuses, but there is no reason to if you were just outplayed."

West Plains, ranked eighth in the state entering the playoffs, won its final 20 games to finish 29-3.

Jackson, ranked third and coming off Friday morning's semifinal victory over No. 1 Gateway Tech, fell one win short of its victory total the last two seasons with a 26-3 campaign.

"We're disappointed in not winning the state championship, but we're not disappointed in the girls for getting here," said Jackson coach Ron Cook with a severely hoarse voice. "It's just a great experience to get here."

West Plains jumped out to a 9-0 lead at the start and then pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Jackson 18-4 to hand the Lady Indians their worst loss of the season.

"We expected a war today and it was a war," said West Plains coach Scott Womack. "The separation came down to the third quarter when we were able to hold them to four points."

Trailing only 24-20 at halftime, Jackson pulled to within 24-22 on a basket by sophomore Cherish Tillman. A jumper by teammate Chrissi Glastetter stopped a 6-0 West Plains' scoring run and made the score 30-24 with 4:15 remaining in the period.

Then the Lady Zizzers really started zipping.

West Plains used a 12-0 run to end the quarter, making three 3-pointers to hold a 42-24 lead after three quarters.

West Plains senior Melissa McKee buried Jackson's state-title hopes during the run with consecutive 3-pointers within 15 seconds of one another that made the score 41-24. McKee finished with 12 points and Jessica Gunter added 15.

"Melissa's very much a streak shooter," said Womack. "If she makes one, we usually try to set up something to try to get it to her again somehow. She's hit some big threes in the last week for us."

Jackson never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Seniors Dana Eakins and Millham, each playing in their third title game, strung together back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the final quarter to make the score 45-34 with 2:59 left.

Millham, playing despite a knee injury suffered in practice earlier in the week, finished her outstanding prep career with a team-high 11 points. Eakins totaled six points on two 3-pointers.

With 59 seconds left and the outcome no longer in doubt, both coaches cleared their benches -- finally giving Womack a feeling of relief.

"When I pulled (the starters) out at 59 (seconds), I felt pretty comfortable then," Womack said with a grin. "We've seen some leads shrink real quick, so we were never too comfortable."

West Plains' 6-foot-1 center Regan Hughston, who has signed to play for Southeast Missouri State University, led the Lady Zizzers with 16 points. She netted 13 of those in the first half.

"We had a hard time with their inside person," Cook said of Hughston. "We tried to double-up on her in the second half, but then they hit the threes.

"They just have a good team. They're strong inside, they had that penetrating guard (junior Kerensa Barr), and good 3-point shooters so they're covered in all areas."

Jackson never really got into the flow of the contest after West Plains scored the first nine points of the game. Junior Melissa Palmer scored nine of Jackson's 13 second-quarter points as the Lady Indians pulled to within four points at halftime, but she was held scoreless the rest of the game.

"In the first half they beat us to a lot of 50-50 balls," said Eakins. "They were a step faster."

Much like the semifinal victory over Gateway Tech, turnovers and poor shooting hurt Jackson. The Lady Indians committed 18 turnovers and shot just 37 percent from the field (14 of 38).