Jackson, Notre Dame, Bluff reach semifinals

Jackson's girls basketball team took a big step in its growth process Thursday night.

The Lady Indians found out they can win even when their best player has an off night.

Jackson (5-2), the third seed, had four players in double figures and made 26 of 30 free throws to knock off No. 6 Massac County (9-3) 70-55 in the first round of the HealthSouth Holiday Classic.

In other first round games, No. 4 Cape Central defeated No. 5 Farmington 60-45, No. 2 Notre Dame downed No. 7 Perryville 75-21 and No. 1 Poplar Bluff beat Jackson's junior varsity 52-30.

In Jackson's win, the usually dominant Jenna Leet -- a 6-foot junior guard/forward who averaged 19 points per game coming in -- scored only 12 points. In the first half, she had five points and six turnovers.

But Whitney Werner scored a career-high 18 points, Kristen Howard added 13 and Ashley Bartels chipped in with 11. Ten Lady Indians found the scoring column.

"That's what it's going to take," said Jackson coach Ron Cook. "We have to have different people contribute on different nights."

Werner scored nine of her team's 15 points in the third quarter as Jackson extended a four-point lead to a 12-point advantage in a six-minute stretch.

"All my teammates looked for me inside and we worked the ball around well," said Werner, who hit several shots inside, but made two 3-pointers as well.

Werner also gave credit to Leet.

"I think she realized she was struggling and she played her role," Werner said. "Since she wasn't on, everybody picked it up because she usually leads us. But she did what she had to do and she had a good game."

The game was a fast-paced one.

Jackson had success pressing Massac County in last year's Classic, but the Lady Indians were burned several times with easy layups this time.

"Massac played an aggressive game," Cook said. "They made us look at ourselves defensively. Our defense is not as good as it can be. They scored too many easy baskets on us."

The lead went back-and-forth throughout the first quarter, but the Lady Indians led 19-18 after the first eight minutes. Jackson made five of its eight shots in the second quarter and hit all six of its free throws to take a 35-29 advantage into the second half.

Jackson opened up a 50-38 lead by the close of the third quarter. Howard scored 11 of her points in the fourth quarter, including 8 of 8 at the line, to help the Lady Indians secure the win.

"They're more physical than we are and their other kids stepped up," said Massac County coach Jim Prevallet. "Their post player, Werner, steps out and hits threes and it's hard to defend that. And they played eight or nine while we played six or seven. And when you hit 26 of 30 free throws, you're going to have a successful night.

"They're definitely the best team we've played so far and that's why we come over here to this tournament."

Massac County's 6-foot-2 center Sarah Buldtman scored a game-high 20 points. Leslie Williams added 12.

Jackson will play No. 2 Notre Dame in the championship semifinals at 8:30 tonight.

NOTRE DAME 75, PERRYVILLE 21

Second-seeded Notre Dame, ranked second in Class 2A, blistered No. 7 Perryville in their first-round game.

The Lady Bulldogs (6-1) led 21-8 after the first quarter and 48-12 at halftime.

"We played pretty well tonight," Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim said. "We pressed well and handled the ball well. We only had ten turnovers on the night, which is good for us."

Ashley Millham led Notre Dame with 20 points, followed by Deana McCormick with 16, Lisa Millham with 12 and Sierra Ellis with 12. McCormick posted a team-high eight rebounds. Notre Dame had 36 rebounds total.

"They outmanned us at every position," Perryville coach Vicki Lohman said. "We start a young team and we're inconsistent. They've just got a quality program. Hopefully we can take something from these games and play well in our conference."

Amanda Nuyt led Perryville (3-4) with 12 points.

Notre Dame will take on No. 3 Jackson at 8:30 tonight in the championship semifinals. The Lady Bulldogs defeated Jackson by three points in overtime earlier this year.

POPLAR BLUFF 52, JACKSON JV 20

Jackson used a matchup zone to slow down the pace and kept it close for a quarter, but the Lady Mules, ranked second in Class 4A at 10-0, outscored the Lady Indians' junior varsity 16-2 in the second quarter and never looked back.

Ten players scored for Jackson, but no player scored in double figures. Jessica Wilson led Poplar Bluff with nine opints, while all-stater Ashley Williams, Nicole Wilson and Omega Key all had eight.

Jackson's Linden Hahs scored five points.

Poplar Bluff will play Cape Central at 7 tonight in a championship semifinal.

Jackson's junior varsity will play Farmington.