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SportsFebruary 18, 2010

"Our defense is our strong point," Jackson's Connor King said. "That and rebounding. We kept them off the boards and limited their shots."

Jackson's Connor King shoots against Oakville during the third quarter Wednesday in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)
Jackson's Connor King shoots against Oakville during the third quarter Wednesday in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

Jackson's defense stifled Oakville for three quarters Wednesday night.

The Indians held on in the fourth.

Jackson knocked off the Tigers 45-33 despite allowing more points in the fourth quarter than it had in the previous three combined.

"We were sloppy," Indians coach Sheila Haertling said of the final quarter. "We let them have dribble-drive penetration. That got us in foul trouble and we put them on the free-throw line. That didn't help."

"We lost our composure," Jackson sophomore Connor King said. "We started panicking and they started taking over."

Jackson's Brooke Sanders takes a shot as Oakville's Nakeva Glenn defends during the third quarter Wednesday in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)
Jackson's Brooke Sanders takes a shot as Oakville's Nakeva Glenn defends during the third quarter Wednesday in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

But the Indians had built a big enough lead that they still posted the double-digit victory.

The win largely was due to Jackson's defense.

Jackson (17-6) held Oakville (10-12) to four points in the first, seven in the second and five in the third.

"Our defense is our strong point," King said. "That and rebounding. We kept them off the boards and limited their shots."

The Indians jumped out to a 12-4 lead after one quarter.

Oakville's Julie Kernen grabs a rebound away from Jackson's Cassandra Bollinger during the third quarter Wednesday.
Oakville's Julie Kernen grabs a rebound away from Jackson's Cassandra Bollinger during the third quarter Wednesday.

"The momentum is huge," Haertling said. "When we get out to a lead early in the game, it usually goes well."

Tigers coach Ron Thompson didn't like the start.

"It was too physical for my liking," he said. "The first 10 minutes were way out of control."

The game was physical, with multiple players slamming to the floor, but the Indians came out on top in the first half.

They enjoyed an eight-point advantage heading into halftime.

Kaylen Knepp started a big third quarter for Jackson.

The senior drained a 3-pointer and added a runner in the lane to extend Jackson's lead to 24-11 early in the third.

The Tigers cut it to 24-14, but Jackson went on an 8-2 run to end the quarter and take a comfortable 32-16 lead into the fourth.

"That's huge," Haertling said of the lead. "We usually talk about getting ahead and going out after halftime and acting like it's a tie ballgame. We have to keep the intensity up."

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That didn't seem to be a problem for Jackson in the third.

The Indians' swarming press and on-the-ball defense caused fits for Oakville.

"We played good defense," Haertling said. "I thought we could have played better. Normally we do a better job of talking, but I was pleased with our defense. It kept us in the game."

The fourth quarter turned into a nightmare for Jackson.

Holding a hefty 16-point lead, the Indians saw Oakville rattle off seven consecutive points to start the quarter and quickly cut the lead to 32-23.

Nakeva Glenn hit two free throws, Leslie DeGonia drained a trey and Lauren Fussell scored a deuce off a turnover to change the momentum.

The Tigers' penetration hurt the Indians.

"Our defense was key," Knepp said. "We need to learn to stop the dribble drive more, and we obviously fouled too much in the fourth."

The Indians eventually settled down and pushed the lead back to 40-29, but the Tigers got it back to 41-33 just seconds later.

After an Oakville timeout with 1 minutes, 3 seconds remaining, Jackson rattled off four straight points to preserve the victory.

Jackson received balanced scoring for the night, something Haertling enjoys.

"It's one of our big assets," Haertling said. "We never know who is going to score. It's hard to scout us. It's much better than one player doing all the scoring. We are team oriented."

Knepp agreed.

"Everyone is always contributing," she said. "Anyone can step up."

Jackson was paced by King's 13 points.

King was effective in the mid-range game as well as down low.

"Our guards are great at the high-low," King said. "I just turned around and shot. I didn't hit a lot of them, but I kept shooting."

Knepp and junior Brooke Sanders added nine points apiece for Jackson.

Oakville 4 7 5 17 -- 33

Jackson 12 7 13 13 -- 45

OAKVILLE (33) -- Nakeva Glenn 9, Leslie DeGonia 8, Julia Nelson 8, Julie Kernen 4, Allison O'Brien 2, Lauren Fussell 2. FG 11, FT 9-16, F 21. (3-pointers: Nelson, DeGonia. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (45) -- Dru Haertling 1, Brooke Sanders 9, Kaylen Knepp 9, Connor King 13, Kylie Seyer 6, Whitney McNeely 5, Cassandra Bollinger 4. FG 14, FT 15-23, F 20. (3-pointers: McNeely, Knepp. Fouled out: Knepp)

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