Jackson girls basketball team reaches district final

IMPERIAL, Mo. -- The Jackson girls basketball team didn't take advantage of a single turnover by the Poplar Bluff Mules in the first half Friday.

That quickly changed.

The Indians scored the first nine points of the second half -- all following Poplar Bluff turnovers -- to pull away for a 49-38 win in a Class 5 District 1 semifinal Friday night at Seckman High School.

"I was really concerned having that many turnovers early," Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister said of 11 first-half turnovers. "That's going to come back to bite you. And it did."

The Mules ended up 13-12 after starting the season 1-6.

Jackson (15-9) advanced to the district championship game against Fox (18-8). The Indians have won the last two district titles and earned a chance at a third after beating Poplar Bluff for a second time this season.

This one started like the first, which Jackson won 37-31, as points were at a premium. Poplar Bluff led 6-5 after one quarter and the teams entered halftime tied at 20.

"It felt like we were playing really well defensively," Jackson coach Tyler Abernathy said. "We were just a little quick and careless offensively."

Jackson didn't score a single point off one of Poplar Bluff's 11 turnovers in the first half.

Jackson's Kayla Keith opened the third quarter with a steal and Cassidi Tomsu shook free from a defender and hit a runner for the lead.

Rachel Crites followed with a steal off a deflected pass and later hit a wide-open Autumn Reid with a pass for an easy layin. After the teams traded missed shots, Crites again got a steal and McKinzie Scott scored for a 29-20 lead just over 3 minutes into the half.

"We had a few mental mistakes or tried to force it a little bit and not be as patient as we should," Chronister said. "That's something we've worked on all year.

"We've struggled with pressure."

A free throw following an offensive rebound by Cassidy Harris ended Poplar Bluff's scoring drought, but the Mules didn't hit their first field goal of the second half until the 2:48 mark. By then, Jackson had opened up a 13-point advantage.

Kaitlyn Slaughter's layin off a pass from Megan Knuckles ended Jackson's 14-1 run.

The Indians managed just a free throw over the final 3 1/2 minutes of the quarter, but they took a 35-28 lead into the fourth.

Courtney Raulston hit a 3, stole the ball twice and hit a layup to cut the deficit to six. Jackson held for a final shot but Scott was sent to the line where the junior split. She then fouled Knuckles on a 3-point attempt with 2.4 seconds left but the sophomore missed them all and Harris hit the side of the backboard on a rushed stick back at the buzzer.

Tomsu picked off a pass and Crites got a putback to start the fourth for Jackson. Soley Webb's steal and transition basket cut Poplar Bluff's deficit to seven but the Lady Mules got no closer.

Jackson hit 7-of-8 free throws over the final 3-plus minutes.

Poplar Bluff finished with 21 turnovers.

"They were running and jumping," Chronister said. "We would get in the trap instead of getting rid of the ball before we got in the trap. Once you're in it, it causes some problems."

Samantha Gatewood scored all 11 of her points in the first half for Poplar Bluff, which shot 19 percent in the previous meeting. This time, the Lady Mules shot 35 percent but were 1-for-11 from long range.

Harris had five points and 10 rebounds while Webb scored seven to go with four assists. Kaitlyn Slaughter scored seven to go with five rebounds while Raulston also had five points.

Tomsu scored all but two of her 13 points in the second half while Reid added 12 points. Crites scored 10 to go with nine rebounds.

The Indians shot 5 for 24 from 3-point range, hitting just one in the second half.

"That's kind of us," Abernathy said. "We shoot it and we'll keep shooting it. The girls have bought into it. As you can see, if we miss a couple we don't stop shooting it."

The teams combined for 15 turnovers and 11 points in the first quarter. They went nearly five minutes without scoring after Poplar Bluff took an early 4-2 lead.

Keith hit a 3 to end the deadlock but Harris got a putback just before the first break to give the Mules a 6-5 lead.

There were six lead changes and three ties in the second quarter with Gatewood scoring nine of Poplar Bluff's 14 points.

"Sam really played well that first half," Chronister said. "The girls did a really good job of getting her the ball. We kind of went away from what we were doing I thought."

Abernathy said the key to shutting down Poplar Bluff's post game was ball pressure.

"The pass into her was too easy, it was where she wanted it," he said.

Jackson kept pace with 3-pointers by Reid, Rylee Stafford and finally Crites at the buzzer to tie the game.

"In transition I thought we were missing people for layups, we were forcing up contested shots when we had people for layups, but we did a much better job in the second half," Abernathy said.