JACKSON GIRLS TAME LIONS 48-40

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- University City had good shooters, good ball-handlers and above average quickness.

Jackson had the size, strength and grit.

On Wednesday night, the pickup trucks beat the sports cars to the finish line.

Jackson, using an attack-the-basket approach, defeated University City 48-40 in a Class 4A sectional high school girls basketball game at the Farmington Civic Center.

The Lady Indians, now 20-6, advance to play Vashon Saturday afternoon in the state quarterfinals at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Jackson's Andrea Koeper used her strong 5-foot-9 frame to score 19 points for the Lady Indians, while lanky 5-foot-10 sophomore Jenna Leet added 16.

"They're strong kids," said U-City coach Thomas Williams. "They're tough to match up with. But the big difference was on the perimeter and their pressure. They pushed us off the ball. They were allowed to play more physical than what we're used to."

Jackson's largest lead of the game was eight points, a margin it held twice, including the final score.

Tiffany Foote, who poured in a game-high 22 points -- including four 3-pointers -- scored a basket with 3:03 left to bring the Lions to within 44-40, but Jackson made its next four free throws to seal the game.

The Lady Indians never trailed in the second half but they couldn't put the game away.

After both teams shot the ball well in the first half, neither team matched that offensive prowess in the second half.

After trailing 15-13 at the completion of the first quarter, Jackson hit its stride offensively in the second quarter. The Lady Indians, who shot 67 percent overall in the first half, made all seven of their shots in the second quarter and scored at least one point in eight of their 10 possessions.

Still, Jackson, despite nine second-quarter points by Koeper, was not able to put U-City away as Foote hit two threes late in the second quarter including one at the buzzer. Jackson led 28-25 at halftime.

Jackson outscored the Lions 9-7 in the third quarter as neither team could maintain its hot shooting. U-City made only three of its 12 shots in the third, while Jackson made three of its eight.

"We were pressing a bit," said Williams. "We missed a few then we started thinking about that. But you have to give them credit. They started playing good defense, good team defense."

"Usually the percentages work out," said Jackson coach Ron Cook. "But our defense was better in the second half."

The first quarter was evenly played, but U-City's Foote scored the quarter's final four points. Foote had nine points in the first quarter alone and ended up with 15 at halftime.

University City ended its season at 21-7, two years removed from a 6-20 campaign.

"I have a lot of respect for their coach," Cook said. "They're disciplined and well-behaved on the court."

In the boys sectional game, Christian Brothers College defeated Farmington 69-50.