LADY INDIANS HARNESS LADY MULES, WIN 54-34

JACKSON -- With its tight confines, dim lighting and formidable inhabitants, the Jackson Multipurpose Building, home court of the Jackson High girls basketball team, must seem something like a dungeon to visiting teams.

Nonetheless, early in Monday's game visiting Poplar Bluff seemed right at home. The undaunted Lady Mules controlled the first quarter -- leading the entire period -- and the opening minutes of the second.

Once Jackson tied the game with a little over three minutes left until halftime, the Lady Indians thoroughly dominated the rest of the contest and cruised to a 54-34 win.

The game was a rematch of last year's Class 4A, District 1 championship game. Jackson won that game 58-43 and ended up finishing second in the state tournament.

Behind hot shooting and excellent offensive rebounding, Poplar Bluff led 18-11 with 6:38 left in the second quarter.

"We shot the ball well in the first quarter, and in the first half we controlled the boards and the tempo of the game," said Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister, whose team dropped to 5-2.

Jackson (8-1) outscored the Lady Mules 43-16 from there.

The drastic turnaround was a result of increased defensive pressure by Jackson, a better effort keeping Poplar Bluff off the offensive glass and a stepped-up offense.

Poplar Bluff totaled only 12 points in the second half, three less than it scored in the first quarter alone.

"We played well in the second half," said Jackson coach Ron Cook. "The girls did a fantastic job with their defense and we forced them out of their offense.

"In the first half they got a lot of second and third shots and in the second half we did a better job of hitting the boards. I'm really tickled to death with the effort the girls put out tonight."

Jackson got its first lead of the game, 19-18, on a free throw by Christa Millham with 2:52 left in the first half.

The spark for Jackson in the second quarter was a pair of 3-pointers by Mindy Myers, who finished with 11 points. The first three tied the game at 18, and the second, less than a minute later, gave the Lady Indians a four-point lead.

After a nearly silent first half in which she only scored two points, Jackson's Michele Millham dominated the third quarter offensively to put the game firmly in Jackson's grip.

Michele Millham, a two-time all-stater, scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the third quarter. Along with her sister Christa, the Millhams scored all 14 of Jackson's points in the third quarter. Christa finished the game with 10 points.

No Lady Mules scored in double figures.

Jackson won the JV game 43-32.

Jackson's Melissa Palmer had 15 points and Jamie Heitz added 10.