Jackson girls basketball team falls to Poplar Bluff

Don't be fooled by the Poplar Bluff girls basketball team's 13 losses.

Jackson found out the hard way Tuesday night.

The Indians, who trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half, knocked down three straight 3-pointers to reclaim a one-point lead with 6:50 left in the game, but the Mules went on an 8-2 run in the final two minutes to secure a 57-52 SEMO Conference victory over host Jackson.

"I think we are back in the groove of things," Poplar Bluff senior Halle Huffman said. "[Kaitlyn] Slaughter is doing really good. She's come along the last couple games."

Slaughter had a double-double with a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds for Poplar Bluff (5-13, 3-1). She scored 11 points and was 5 of 6 (83 percent) from the floor in the opening quarter, allowing the Mules to pull away early.

"She's just so strong," Poplar Bluff Kirk Chronister said. "That first half, you just couldn't ask anybody to play better than what she did. ... When she gets a finger on the ball it's hers."

Jackson (13-7, 3-1) turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter. The Indians trailed 15-9 heading into the second frame.

"I just thought we played really careless in the first quarter," Jackson coach Tyler Abernathy said. "We haven't practiced well, and we came out and played like that. We just weren't real focused. We didn't play real well in the first half, and you've got to give Bluff credit. They played hard. When they play hard, they make things difficult for you. We just didn't play well."

Slaughter drained a runner to spark a 9-3 run for the Mules in the final 4 minutes, 35 seconds of the first half, giving Poplar Bluff a 29-17 lead at the break.

Abernathy said Jackson's lack of execution on defense led to most of Slaughter's offense.

"We let her catch it where we told her she couldn't catch it, and then we let her drop step baseline," Abernathy said. "It was pretty simple. She didn't do any rocket science to score, but she did what she's really good at. And I think that's part of a good player, being able to do what you're really good at a lot, and that's what she does."

The Mules extended their lead to 38-23 in the third quarter, but a layup by Abby Hermann sparked an 8-1 Jackson run in the final 2:40 of the period. The run trimmed Poplar Bluff's lead to eight points heading into the final quarter.

Jackson switched to a pressure defense that forced the Mules to turn the ball over four times in the quarter.

"That's something we've been concerned with all year," Chronister said about the turnovers. "Jackson put a lot of pressure on us, and we made a few poor decisions there and coughed it up."

The Indians regained the lead 1:10 into the fourth quarter, when a pair of treys from Autumn Reid and a 3-pointer from Rachel Crites extended the Indians' run to 17-1 for a 40-39 lead, but Lexi Hafford answered with a layup that sparked a 6-0 spurt for Poplar Bluff. With his team trailing 45-40, Abernathy called a timeout at the 4:42 mark of the period.

"I knew they were an outstanding 3-point shooting team. That's why we started in our man [defense]. We were really having trouble containing them off the dribble," Chronister said. "We run that 1-3-1 [zone defense], which we feel we can check the 3s pretty well in it. We were not too much worried about their inside game. ... Boy, they hit those three 3s, and we went back to our man and felt like all the momentum was in their end of the court after they hit those three 3s.

"We were fortunate to come back and be able to make a little run there."

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Cassidi Tomsu sparked an 8-2 run for the Indians, who once again took a one-point lead with 3:19 left in the game, but the Mules took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Hafford.

After Hafford made the first of two free throws with 21 seconds remaining, Jackson had a chance to tie the game on its final possession, but a missed layup allowed Poplar Bluff to hang on for the victory.

The Mules were 8 of 11 (73 percent) from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, during which Poplar Bluff's Megan Knuckles was a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. She finished with nine points.

"Megan stepped up there with all the confidence in the world, and that's just real big," Chronister said. "There's nothing else you can say about it. That's the ball game."

Hafford had 14 points, and Soley Webb contributed nine points for the Mules, who shot 21 of 44 (48 percent) from the floor. Chronister said his team's shot selection was key in the victory.

"You shoot the ball well, you play well, and I thought that was the key," Chronister said. "Another key, I thought we did a good job of staying out of foul trouble, and we stopped their penetration dribble. They were going to shot fake every time and take a dribble, and I thought our kids, especially in the first half, did a real good job. We had a little breakdown there in the third quarter. That's why we went to that 1-3-1 but ended up going back to our staple in that man."

Although his team was out-rebounded 26-22, Abernathy was pleased with the way his players fought back in the second half.

"We started playing harder, so we got more energy," Abernathy said. "There in the first half, we were missing short a lot. We even airballed a 3 in the first half from the top of the key. We just didn't have any energy. And then in the second half, you come out and you're getting tails whipped. You come out and you compete, which I was proud of how we came out in the second half. But against a team that's well-coached, you just can't lay over for a half, and I thought Bluff did a lot of good things.

"We just dug ourselves too big of a hole, and then when we came back, it was like we would make a costly mistake and put them on the free-throw line."

Tomsu finished with a 18 points to lead Jackson, which shot 20 of 50 (40 percent) from the field. Crites added 13 points, and Reid had 11 points for the Indians.

The two rivals have met in the Class 5, District 1 tournament four times in the last five years. Abernathy believes it's always an exciting game.

"People talk about records, this and that. None of that matters," Abernathy said. "When the ball goes up, these two teams play. ... It's going to be close, and the team that executes and prepares the best usually ends up successful.

"And tonight that was Bluff."

Poplar Bluff 15 14 10 18 -- 57

Jackson 9 8 14 21 -- 52

POPLAR BLUFF (57) -- Kaitlyn Slaughter 19, Lexi Hafford 14, Megan Knuckles 9, Soley Webb 9, Halie Huffman 4, Jabreuna Brimlett 2. FG 21-44, FT 14-23, F 14. (3-pointers: Slaughter 1. Fouled out: Webb.)

JACKSON (52) -- Cassidi Tomsu 18, Rachel Crites 13, Autumn Reid 11, Rylee Stafford 7, Abby Hermann 3. FG 20-50, FT 6-10, F 20. (3-pointers: Tomsu 2, Reid 2, Crites 1, Stafford 1. Fouled out: None.)