JACKSON GIRLS AVENGE LOSS TO BLUFF

Catalyst, spark plug, instant offense. Lindsey Hobeck was all that Monday night.

Hobeck, a 5-foot-7 sophomore guard, hopped off the bench early in the second quarter of Jackson High's game against Poplar Bluff, swiftly pumped in 10 points during a 2 1/2-minute stretch and helped send the Lady Indians on to a 66-44 drubbing of the Lady Mules.

The victory, which improved Jackson to 6-1, avenged the Lady Indians' only loss, a 56-50 setback to Poplar Bluff Dec. 18 in the championship game of the HealthSouth Holiday Classic. The Lady Mules slipped to 7-3.

Jackson led 14-10 entering the second quarter before Hobeck sank a 3-pointer as she was fouled 13 seconds into the period. Hobeck made the free throw and then hit another 3 a minute and a half later. Another Hobeck 3, this one a minute later with 5:10 remaining in the half, pushed the Lady Indians ahead 26-12.

"She (Hobeck) hit 10 points there in what seemed like about 30 seconds," Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister said. "She came in and really picked them up. And then they just completely dominated us."

Hobeck finished with 13 points. Cherish Tillman, a 5-9 junior center, totaled a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrea Koeper, a sophomore, added nine points and nine rebounds.

"I was hot," Hobeck said. "I just got pretty aggressive. This (Poplar Bluff) is an aggressive team. We've got a big rivalry, and we lost the last game against them. I was just out to make something happen."

Jackson had its way offensively, to the tune of 50 percent (23 of 46) shooting from the floor. The Lady Indians, held to no 3-pointers in the teams' last meeting, knocked down five Monday.

Meanwhile, Poplar Bluff struggled to a 16 of 59 (27 percent) shooting outing.

"Our defense had something to do that," Jackson coach Ron Cook said. "And they might have had a little bit of an off night."

Said Chronister: "I think Jackson was putting a lot of pressure on us and we weren't being aggressive. We were not nearly aggressive enough on offense. I think Jackson was really hungry for the ballgame."

Cook said his Lady Indians required no impassioned exhortations to get ready for this game.

"The girls wanted to win," Cook said. "I didn't try to emotionally get them up high or anything special. You have to do that as an athlete. If you're competitive and you've been beaten by this team, that ought to bring enough emotion out of you to play hard. And we did tonight.

"We played defense and moved our feet and got rebounds and loose balls on the floor. That's what you've got to do to have a winning team."