JACKSON GIRLS TOPPLE SECOND STATE-RANKED TEAM THIS WEEK

JACKSON -- The Jackson Lady Indians appear ready for another run at the Class 4A championship.

Saturday's 68-65 win at home over state-ranked St. Joseph's Academy, coupled with a victory earlier in the week over fourth-ranked Poplar Bluff, should serve as evidence of that.

Jackson, which dropped to No. 8 in the 4A poll this week after a loss to Notre Dame in the HealthSouth Christmas Tournament, improved to 9-1 on the season. The Angels, a perennial power out of St. Louis and currently ranked fifth in 4A, fell to 7-3.

"St. Joseph's is one the top teams in St. Louis and one of the best in the state," said Jackson coach Ron Cook. "We're very fortunate to win this game. They hung around."

Thanks to a 28-point fourth quarter and the 3-point shooting of 5-foot-7 senior Sarah Landry, the Angels "hung around" until the final horn before falling. Trailing by three points with six-seconds left, Angels sophomore Sara Mullen missed a 20-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer with the crowd on its feet.

"We were lucky to (almost) catch them at the end," said St. Joseph's coach Bob Hayes. "We had a tough start. Our kids came out a little slow and it's tough to play from behind the whole game."

The Angels scored the first basket of the game, but never led again. Jackson opened up leads as big as 11-points in the second quarter, but St. Joseph's rallied in the second half.

Landry led the Angels' charge in the fourth quarter by making three 3-pointers and scoring 10 of her team-high 18 points in the final frame. Landry's fifth, and final, 3-pointer knotted the score 64-64 with just 33-seconds remaining.

"Landry's a good 3-point shooter," Cook said. "She was a big factor."

Jackson broke the Angels' full-court pressure and found sophomore Cherish Tillman under the basket for two points that put the Lady Indians up 66-64 with 20-seconds left. Tillman was also fouled on the play, but missed her free throw.

The free throw was about the only big shot Tillman missed in the game. The 5-10 forward had a huge game, grabbing several key rebounds and scoring 18 points.

"Cherish has been coming along," said Cook. "She's a strong girl and she's doing a good job."

St. Joseph's Erica Schulte (17 points) was immediately fouled rebounding Tillman's miss and made 1 of 2 free throws to close the score to 66-65. But Jackson junior Melissa Palmer broke free off the press for a lay-up to make the score 68-65 with eight-seconds left.

Palmer also had a huge game, scoring a game-high 19 points. Christa Millham scored two big buckets in the closing minutes and ended with 17 points.

"I was real impressed by (Jackson's) balance this year with the new kids they have playing," Hayes said. "They shot the ball extremely well and had really good balance from all the kids that played.""

Hot shooting was a major factor in the Lady Indians' win. Jackson shot 54 percent from the field and 62 percent from inside the 3-point line. A torrid fourth quarter helped St. Joseph's shoot 48 percent in the contest.

"It was a very competitive game and very well played," Hayes said. "Both teams shot pretty good. It was almost like a playoff intensity, which makes for a fun atmosphere to play."

Jackson led 32-24 at halftime and 46-37 entering the fourth quarter after senior Dana Eakins drained a last-second 3-pointer before the buzzer. Eakins had another 3-pointer earlier in the quarter and finished with six points.