LADY BULLDOGS FLASH TEETH IN HEALTHSOUTH OPENER 63-44

Notre Dame started three sophomores, a senior and a freshman Monday night, but they looked anything but young.

And they looked anything but a No. 5 seed in a seven-team tournament.

Notre Dame's freshmen and sophomores combined for 46 points and the Lady Bulldogs dominated in every aspect of the game, knocking off fourth-seeded Massac County (Ill.) 63-44 in the first round of the HealthSouth Holiday Classic at the Show Me Center.

Notre Dame will play top-seeded Poplar Bluff -- which got a first-round bye -- at 6:30 tonight.

Notre Dame, the sixth-ranked team in Class 2A, shot 49 percent from the field, hit 13 of 16 free throws, passed the ball well and had a clear rebounding advantage over the taller Lady Patriots.

"I'm very pleased," said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim. "We pushed the ball when we needed to and we pulled back when we needed to. Defensively, we did a great job and in the fourth quarter we pretty much shut them down."

Four Notre Dame players scored in double figures, led by sophomore Lisa Millham's 15 points. Ashley Millham, a freshman, added 11, sophomore point guard Courtney Vickery added 10 and sophomore forward Deana McCormick had 10.

Jessica Seratti, the only senior starter, was definitely a factor, grabbing a team-high 14 rebounds. McCormick grabbed eight boards.

Even when the Lady Bulldogs faced adversity, they handled it like seasoned pros.

Notre Dame led 34-24 at halftime, thanks to an 8-0 run in the last 35 seconds of the second quarter which included two 3-pointers by sophomore forward Lisa Millham.

The Lady Bulldogs got a little careless early in the third quarter. After Ashley Millham put Notre Dame ahead 36-24 on the first possession of the second half, the Lady Bulldogs failed to score on their next seven possessions which included four straight turnovers.

"We got a little impatient in the third quarter," said Grim. "We were passing it once and taking a shot and we can't do that."

Massac County (8-3) managed to cut the lead to 36-31 midway through the third quarter and eventually cut the lead to 40-37 on the fifth-of-six 3-pointers by Massac County sharpshooter Melissa Lillie with 2:53 left in the third.

But Notre Dame finished the third quarter on a 14-3 run.

"Every time we got back into it we let down mentally," said Massac County coach Jim Prevallet. "You can't let down against a good basketball team like Notre Dame."

The key sequence of the game occurred during the last 3 seconds of the third quarter. Ashley Millham who started in place of injured senior Michelle Hency nailed a three with 3 seconds left and Massac County then immediately turned the ball over.

With 1 second left on the clock, Seratti took an inbound pass under the basket, scored and was fouled. She made the free throw to give Notre Dame six points in the final 3 seconds of the quarter.

Jackson 79, Scott Central 50

Second-seeded Jackson had no troubles disposing of No. 7 Scott County Central in the first round.

Jackson (3-1) bolted out to a 23-6 lead in the first quarter.

Cherish Tillman led the way with 19 points and Andrea Koeper provided 16, including 12 in the first quarter.

Jenna Leet added 11 points for Jackson, followed by Christain Howard with 10.

For Scott County Central (5-2), Brandy Miller led the way with 16 points.