Jackson girls overcome slow start, blow by Cape Central in physical rivalry bout

With an 11-year winning streak on the line against a scrappy Cape Central Tigers team, Jackson girls basketball went on the road to take down its bitter rival despite an early shooting slump in a 48-26 victory in early SEMO Conference play.

Scoring just a singular pair of points on a Camryn Alsdorf field goal in the first quarter, Jackson’s furious second-quarter rally ensured victory as it clawed back from nine down to claim the rivalry dub.

“Getting a win always feels good,” Indians coach Angela Fulton said. “What I enjoyed the most is the fact that when they did go on that run, we kept our composure. We kept our heads in the game and we ended up coming back.

“That kind of shows you the steps that we're taking and the growth that we've done throughout the season. That’s what I'm most proud of.”

Battling through a deadlock at 2-all through the first six minutes, Cape Central made the first run of the night as the Tigers dropped in a 2-pointer and an and-1 to interrupt an early scoring drought.

Grabbing a 7-2 edge after a quarter, the Tigers dominated momentum swings early as they emerged from a handful of fouls and many more misses to grab a multiple–possession lead after the game’s first eight minutes.

The run continued into the second quarter for Cape Central as Emani Summers collected boards and, in turn, putback buckets to push the Tigers further in front.

At a Tiger timeout with 3:48 left in the quarter, Cape Central had mustered up a 13-6 lead that stretched as far as nine points just moments before. This timeout may have given Jackson some life, however, as it fostered a big run to end the half.

Alsdorf scored 12 consecutive points, including a 3-pointer and an and-1, to finish the first half with 14 and spawn a 13-0 run that claimed Jackson its first lead of the game and a 17-13 lead going into the locker room.

“Alsdorf having those transition baskets and the 3-pointer, I mean, that's huge,” Fulton said. “Momentum shifts, we get a little bounce in our step. It's basketball. Sometimes the ball goes in, sometimes it doesn't. But when it doesn't, you just keep on chugging.”

Cape Central couldn’t buy a bucket to start the third quarter, and the shots finally started falling for the Indians as Holland Guilliams dropped in a trio of deep shots, forcing the Tigers into a timeout with 2:07 to play in the third trailing 31-16.

Inversely to its earlier timeout, the game cleared up for the Tigers exiting the huddle as they held Jackson scoreless for the third’s final two minutes while Abby Davenport dropped in a free throw to close to gap to 31-17 going into the fourth.

Trading a couple of 3-pointers at the start of the frame, Cape Central couldn’t keep the pace as Jackson continued to sink deep shots while the Tigers searched for a response, eventually resulting in a 48-26 final score to give Jackson its first conference win of the year.

Camryn Alsdorf led the Indians in scoring with 19 points, with an impressive 12-point second quarter to rally the Indians back from a big deficit. Holland Guilliams hit a handful of big shots down the stretch to finish with 10 in the win for Jackson.

Cape Central’s Emani Summers put together a 13-point night, 11 of which came in the Tigers’ impressive first half. The Tigers’ closest scorer behind her, Gracyn Morris, hit two of the three field goals not put in by Summers to finish with five points.

Starting the game on a big run, Cape Central had its chances to keep ahead in the game but ran out of juice midway through the second quarter.

Now back to even on the season at 6-6, coach Aaron Lee knows his team has the talent to make a statement in conference play but is still trying to work out some of the kinks in the system.

“We played really good defense in the first half,” Lee began. “But second-chance opportunities really hurt us in that second quarter. When they went to their press, we just didn't handle the pressure very well.

“It ended up being a lopsided score when the game was closer than the score would indicate, but that happens when you're playing young kids. You're going to have those kinds of games. For the most part, they played hard.”

After a rough stretch to start the season, the Indians now stand at 7-4 after collecting three consecutive wins in St. Vincent, North County and now the talented Cape Central Tigers.

With roughly seven weeks remaining until the start of playoff action and marquee matchups with Notre Dame, Cor Jesu and Doniphan still remaining, the road only gets tougher for the Indians as the new year unravels.

“We're coming together more as a unit,” Fulton said. “At the beginning of the season – new coach, lots of different roles – it's always an adjustment. I think now we've kind of learned what our roles are and what we need to do.

“We're figuring each other out, and that's kind of what needs to happen this time of year.”

__JACKSON 48, CAPE CENTRAL 26__

Jackson 2 15 14 17 — 48

Cape Central 9 6 4 9 — 26

Jackson (48) — Camryn Alsdorf 19, Holland Guilliams 10, Lillie Cole 7, Katy St. John 6, Addison Criddle 3, Lilly Watkins 2, Jayla Smith 1. FG: 18. (3-pointers: Cole 2, Guilliams 2, Alsdorf 1, Criddle 1)

Cape Central (26) — Emani Summers 13, Gracyn Morris 5, Abby Davenport 4, Brooklynn Moss 3, Allie Cairns 1. FG: 9. (3-pointers: Davenport 1)