Jackson girls basketball team falters after fast start

The Indians led by 10 points in the first quarter but fell 44-33 to Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Jackson girls basketball team ran out of gas after a fast start.

The Indians scored 12 consecutive points in the first quarter to take a double-digit lead, but Poplar Bluff answered with a 15-0 run and didn't take its foot off the gas.

The Mules won 44-33 in a battle between the final teams unbeaten in SEMO Conference play.

"We started off so fast, then we hit that wall and we just couldn't quite get over," Jackson coach Tyler Abernathy said.

Jackson (12-6, 2-1 SEMO) led by 10 points with two minutes left in the first quarter and with Poplar Bluff's leading scorer sitting on the bench with two fouls.

However, the Mules (14-8, 4-0) closed the half with a 19-2 run, then scored the first five points of the second half to go ahead by 10 points.

Sara Eyler led the charge for the Mules, scoring 10 of her game-high 17 points in the second quarter. The senior hit 6 of 12 shots from the field and had 10 rebounds.

Marissa Webb added 16 points and 10 rebounds after shaking early foul trouble.

Dru Haertling and Conner King each scored 10 points for Jackson, but nine of those points came in the first quarter.

"I told them this is the Dru and Conner show we're watching here," said Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister about what he told his team during a timeout late in the first quarter.

Chronister said the difference between the opening five minutes and the rest of the game was that the Mules were getting better weak-side help on King.

Poplar Bluff scored the game's first points on a pair of free throws in the opening minute, but Jackson tallied the next 12 points.

The Mules missed their first seven shots from the field and turned the ball over twice during the run. Poplar Bluff didn't get its first basket -- a put back by Danielle Farmer -- until 1 minute, 38 seconds were left in the first quarter.

Haertling answered with a drive from the right wing, but the Indians went the next 7:46 without scoring. Eyler then led Poplar Bluff's 15-0 run with eight points. The senior finished the half with an off-balance 16-footer in the closing seconds to give the Mules a 21-16 halftime lead.

"I thought we came out with great energy and great intensity," Abernathy said. "We pushed the ball and we got off to a hot start."

Webb picked up her second foul midway through the first quarter and sat until the second.

Eyler opened the second half by getting to the free-throw line with a drive. She hit both shots and, after a block by Webb, Poplar Bluff went up 10 points on a 3-pointer by Kelsy Bates.

The Mules led by 15 points after Webb hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:28 left in the third quarter. Jackson cut the margin to 35-23 by the start of the fourth but was never able to pull within single digits.

"I thought our execution tonight was as good as it's been all year," said Chronister, who picked up his 705th career win.

King had eight rebounds to lead Jackson, which shot 32 percent from the field including 3 of 11 from behind the arc.

Poplar Bluff won the rebounding battle 28-20, getting 13 second-chance points.

"We talked early on that one of the most important things in the game was we had to rebound the ball defensively," Abernathy said.

Jackson won the first meeting of the season 41-37 at the Farmington tournament in December.

Jackson 14 2 7 10 -- 33

Poplar Bluff 8 13 14 9 -- 44

Jackson (33) -- Dru Haertling 10, Rachel Hodo 3, Connor King 10, Danielle Daume 6, Megan Williams 4. FG 9, FT 6-12, F 21. (3-pointers: Daume 2, Hodo 1. Fouled out: Haertling, Williams)

Poplar Bluff (44) -- Chelsea Darnell 4, Kelsey Bates 3, Danielle Farmer 4, Sara Eyler 16, Marissa Webb 17. FG 11, FT 16-22, F 12. (3-pointers: Bates 1, Webb 1. Fouled out: none)