Jackson girls basketball reaches Class 5 District 1 final

The top-seeded Jackson girls basketball team scored the first 12 points of its semifinal game against host Northwest on Monday and advanced to the Class 5 District 1 championship game with a 63-30 victory.

In a rematch of last year's championship game, the Indians didn't yield a field goal to the fourth-seeded Lions until the final minute of the opening quarter and took a 17-4 lead into the second period.

Jackson (22-4) will face second-seeded Fox (19-7) in Thursday's 6 p.m. championship game in Cedar Hill, Missouri. Fox defeated third-seeded Poplar Bluff 55-51 in the other semifinal.

"We were efficient on offense, played hard on defense and made them take some contested shots," Jackson coach Tyler Abernathy said. "I thought early on we played pretty well."

Senior Mallorie Maintz led Jackson with 14 points, while junior Rylee Stafford finished with 12 points and senior Kayla Keith had 10.

The Indians got the ball to Maintz in the low post for the game's first basket, and Stafford knocked down a 14-footer for a 4-0 lead just 55 seconds into the game.

Keith scored her first points on a conventional three-point play for a 9-0 lead before senior Autumn Reid capped the game-opening run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 5:14 mark.

Northwest (9-18) got on the scoreboard on a free throw with 2:29 left in the period, but junior Nikki Sotak countered with a 3-pointer and Keith added a pair of free throws.

Abby Bowen finally recorded the Lions' first field goal -- a 3-pointer -- with about 30 seconds left in the quarter.

Jackson extended its lead to 20 points, 35-15, by halftime and started a running clock during the fourth quarter.

Marquee Banderet paced the Lions with 10 points.

The Indians defeated Northwest 57-27 in last year's title game,

The Indians, who had not played since a 59-35 loss to Dexter in its regular-season finale on Feb. 22, will have two more days off until the title game.

"It's been a long time since we've played," Abernathy said. "It's nice to have confidence going into that game."

Northwest 4 11 8 7 -- 30

Jackson 17 18 16 12 -- 63

NORTHWEST (30) -- Marquee Banderet 10, Owens 3, Jordyn White 4, Abby Bowen 9, Kaylen Austin 2, Donnazia Trigg 2. FG 10, FT 5-9, F 15 (3-pointers: Banderet 2, Owens, Bowen 2. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (63) -- Cassidi Tomsu 4, Grace Pehle 2, Autumn Reid 7, Randa Norman 2, Nikki Sotk 8, Rylee Stafford 12, Abby Hermann 2, Mallorie Maintz 14, Kayla Keith 10, Nicole Humphreys 2. FG 24, FT 11-18, F 17 (3-pointers: Reid, Sotak 2, Keith. Fouled out: none)