Jackson wins its fourth straight Holiday Classic title

Jackson's girls basketball team jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the opening quarter of the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic championship game Friday and went on to claim its fourth straight title with a 55-45 win over Sparta (Ill.) at the Show Me Center.

The second-seeded Indians (6-3) withstood a second-half comeback -- the fifth-seeded Bulldogs cut the lead to eight points midway through the fourth -- to claim the team's fifth overall title in the tournament's 11 years. Jackson substituted five at a time during the game and had nine players score.

Sides said his substitution pattern may have helped Sparta's run in the second half.

"I tried to get everyone in the game, and we lost our momentum," he said. "That's my fault. The first time [in the opening quarter] it worked fine, but after that we got a big lead and lost our intensity. Tonight I subbed sometimes just to get everyone playing time."

Everything seemed to be working early on for the Indians, who led 21-2 after one quarter. Sparta scored its only basket of the quarter with 20 seconds left.

Jackson's starting five scored 12 points in nearly six minutes of play in the first, and its second five added nine.

"I've got a good bench," Sides said. "The last three games they've played well, but I should have done it the way I have been doing it and sub one or two at a time. I got us out of rhythm, and once you lose that it's hard to get back."

Thanks to a stingy defense, Jackson was up by as many as 22 points early in the second quarter. By halftime, Jackson maintained a 22-point margin at 38-16.

Jackson's defenders were especially tough on Sparta center Ashley Perry, who managed just four points, all coming in the first half. Perry had 19 points in Sparta's upset of No. 1 Farmington in the semifinals, and 16 in an opening win over Central.

"We played pretty good positional defense," Sides said. "We play that matchup and not everyone sees that. They couldn't get it inside, which is their strength."

What the Bulldogs began to do in the third was take the ball to the hole. Freshman guard Rachel Peck had eight points in the third and senior guard Lauren Buch added seven to help cut the lead to 49-39 after three quarters.

Jackson's offense held the ball the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, and neither team scored over the first 3 minutes and 35 seconds of the quarter. By the time Sparta had cut the lead to 49-41, only 4:25 remained on the clock.

The Indians traded a couple of baskets early in the quarter and did not let the lead go below eight. Overall, the Indians possessed the ball for nearly six minutes in the final quarter.

"We really weren't stalling," Sides said. "They were trying to trap us and we ran our trap offense and we got locked up. We really weren't trying to stall until the final minute and a half. That was a decision on the floor."

Senior forward Gabrielle Garritano led a balanced Jackson scoring attack with 11 points. Junior reserve guard Kelci Keith added nine points and Amanda Peiffer had eight. Garritano and Keith both made the all-tournament team.

"Kelci made the all-tournament team and never started," Sides said. "I've got seven players that can start, it makes no difference. She played well every game. She's a good shooter and a good player. She made big contributions last night and some tonight."

Jackson got 26 points from its bench, led by Chelsea Bartels with seven.

Peck and Buch led the Bulldogs with 13 points apiece. Wendy Dunn added 10 points.

Sparta was the third different team Jackson has played in the finals in three years. The Indians are tied with the most titles with Poplar Bluff.

"It's not easy to do," Sides said of winning four straight. "We've beaten some good teams along the way to get here. We rose to the occasion. That's a testament to our program and the dedication and hard work which has put us in position to win four in a row."

A tournament which saw the No. 1 seed not make the finals for the first time got another upset Friday as No. 3 Notre Dame routed the top-seeded Knightettes 66-49. Kristain Burger scored a tournament-high 30 points in the win. Meridith Medlin added 17.

Central edged Perryville 63-59 in the consolation final. The Tigers (3-6) got 28 points from Wendi Zickfield and 10 from Courntey Schuessler.

Ava Johnson led the Pirates with 17 points, Kendra Schilli had 13 and Alicia Kueker had 10.

Woodland started the day with a 58-41 win over Saxony Lutheran in the seventh-place game. Cortney Glastetter led the Cardinals with 17 pints and Francee VanGennip added 14.

Tori Ourth led Saxony with 21 points and Kara Versemann added 13.

Burger, Medlin, Zickfield and Christina Sexton of Central rounded out the area representatives on the all-tournament team.

Jackson 55, Sparta 45

Sparta 2 14 23 6 -- 45

Jackson 21 17 11 6 -- 55

SPARTA (45) -- Lauren Buch 13, Rachel Peck 13, Wendy Dunn 10, Ashley Perry 4, Jasmine Robinson 5. FG 20, FT 5-9, F 12 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (55) -- Gabrielle Garritano 11, Kelci Keith 9, Amanda Peiffer 8, Chelsea Bartels 7, Lindsay Poole 3, Cody Goodpasture 4, Jenni Tenholder 3, Ashten Howard 4, Ashley Charboneau 6. FG 25, FT 3-7, F 12 (3-pointers: Keith 1, Poole 1. Fouled out: none)

Notre Dame 66, Farmington 49

Notre Dame 20 12 15 19 -- 66

Farmington 15 15 15 4 -- 49

NOTRE DAME (66) -- Kristain Burger 30, Meridith Medlin 17, Alex Fowler 8, Brooke Beussink 6, Paige Schumer 2, Paris Burger 2, Claudia Brauss 1. FG 22, FT 18-22, F 12 (3-pointers: Fowler 2, Beussink 2. Fouled out: K. Burger)

FARMINGTON (49) -- Sydney Winslow 16, Briley Milfeld 10, Natalie Sago 9, Sarah Ward 8, Holly Russell 4, Danielle Littrell 2. FG 21, FT 1-5, F 16 (3-pointers: Milfeld 3, Sago 1. Fouled out: none)

Central 63, Perryville 59

Perryville 7 13 18 21 -- 59

Central 15 12 20 16 -- 63

PERRYVILLE (59) -- Alicia Kueker 10, Ava Johnson 17, Nicole Gremaud 6, Kendra Schilli 13, Alyssa Bauwens 7, Emily Hanquist 2, Kim Miesner 4. FG 21, FT 15-22, F 20 (3-pointers: Gremaud 2. Fouled out: Bauwens)

CENTRAL (63) -- Christina Sexton 9, Kristin Shirrell 3, Tierra Walker 5, Courtney Schuessler 10, Lauren Kinsey 2, Mary Pearson 2, Taylor Kirn 2, Sarah Uptmor 2, Wendi Zickfield 28. FG 24, FT 12-20, F 20 (3-pointers: Sexton 1. Fouled out: Schuessler)

Woodland 58, Saxony Lutheran 41

Saxony 2 11 15 13 -- 41

Woodland 15 15 13 15 -- 58

SAXONY LUTHERAN (41) -- Tori Ourth 21, Kara Versemann 13, Cassie Simpher 2, Shelby Haupt 1, Laura Koenig 4. FG 13, FT 12-17, F 13 (3-pointers: Ourth 2, Versemann 1. Fouled out: none)

WOODLAND (58) -- Kyla Choate 8, Rheanna Greer 4, Taylor Steckman 2, Casey McCraw 5, Tasha Lincoln 8, Francee VanGennip 14, Cortney Glastetter 17. FG 23, FT 11-18, F 13 (3-pointers: McCraw 1. Fouled out: none)