Kickapoo turns it up late, defeats Jackson

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A state basketball championship continued to be the elusive Holy Grail for the Jackson girls basketball team today.

Playing in their seventh and final state final four under retiring head coach Ron Cook, the Indians saw their title dreams end again on the floor of the Hearnes Center.

Facing an uphill battle from the start against unbeaten and nationally ranked Springfield Kickapoo in the Class 5 semifinals, Jackson fell 53-32.

Jackson (21-9) was the only non-ranked team among the four final teams, but it didn't lessen the pain.

"We played our hearts out," said a red-eyed senior Jenna Leet. "It hurts so bad because we wanted to go on. We still have to get ready for tomorrow night."

Jackson will play Lee's Summit for third place at 9:30 p.m. Kickapoo (30-0) will play for the title at 6:30 p.m.

In need of the game of their lives, the Indians fell well short. Their 32 points matched a season low. Leet, who averages 17.3 ppg, scored just two points in the first half and finished with six points on 2 of 12 shooting.

Leet, headed for Southern Methodist University on a basketball scholarship, wasn't alone in her struggles. Not a single player reached double figures for Jackson, led by senior guard Kristen Howard's eight points.

"We didn't stick the ball in the hole," Cook said. "We didn't shoot very well."

The Indians did hang with Kickapoo, 14th in the USA Today Super Top 25, for three quarters. With both teams struggling offensively, the Chiefs took a 29-19 lead into the fourth quarter before pulling away.

Jackson held its only lead in the first quarter. Howard hit a 3-pointer on Jackson's second possession for a 3-1 lead, and she connected on an 18-foot jumper the next trip down the floor for a 5-1 lead.

That was as good as it got for the Indians as Kickapoo retaliated with a 9-0 run. Sophomore Leslie Hanchey, starting in place of injured guard Greta Wiersch, tied the score 5-5 with an offensive rebound, and Heather Ezzell put the Chiefs into the lead with a 3-pointer the next time down the floor.

Jackson trailed 13-7 after a Molly Carter free throw, but came back with six unanswered points to tie the score. Leet closed the first quarter with an offensive putback to trim the lead to 13-9, and senior Whitney Werner opened the second period with a pair of baskets. After helping block a shot by 6-foot-3 Laura Granzow on the defensive end, Werner scored off an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession to tie the game 13-13 at the 7:03 mark .

It also marked the beginning of an offensive drought for the Indians, who netted just a a Linden Hahs free throw the remainder of the half.

Granzow gave Kickapoo the lead for good with a pair of free throws with 5:13 left, starting a 10-1 run for the Chiefs. Jackson turned the ball over on six of its final 12 possessions and trailed 23-14 at halftime.

Kickapoo coach Stephanie Phillips sighted the loss of Wiersch as the source of some of her team's struggles. Wiersch, who tore an ACL in the quarterfinals, made a token appearance in the final seconds of the game.

"I think we started out kind of tight," Phillips said. "It's an adjustment to come out without one of your players. You've played a whole season with the same starting lineup and then you come out in the semifinals of the state tournament and you've changed things up. I think that was something we all had to adjust to."

Kailey Mock heated up for Kickapoo in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of her team-high 16 points. Granzow finished with 14 points.

Cook said he wasn't disappointed coming up short on his final attempt at a state crown.

"We came up here without a point guard, and without a dominant inside post player," Cook said. "I'm really happy about this bunch getting up here."

The Indians will be looking to rebound tonight as Cook's 22-year era at Jackson draws to a close.

"We wanted to finish on a win for both us the seniors and for coach," Werner It means a lot to us. We come up here to play as hard as we can. That's all we can ask for. But it'd be really good to go out with a win.