LADY INDIANS `HAWK' DOWN 70-39 VICTORY

BENTON -- Two of the hottest girls basketball teams in the area faced off Thursday night at Kelly High School.

State-ranked Jackson kept cooking while Kelly just got cooked.

The Lady Indians, ranked third in Class 4A and No. 1 in Southeast Missouri, won their eighth straight to improve to 13-1 with a 70-39 victory over the Lady Hawks. Kelly, one of the top 2A teams in the area which had won six in a row, fell to 12-4.

"When you play a team like Jackson, they're going to make you look bad," Kelly coach Clay Vangilder said with a smile. "I don't know how many turnovers we had. It was probably around 160."

Close.

The Lady Hawks committed 42 turnovers -- 21 coming in the second and third quarters -- as Jackson built a 24-point lead.

"Our girls came to play tonight," said satisfied Jackson coach Ron Cook. "We played some good defense and were diving on the floor. That's what I like to see. We need to keep that intensity."

Jackson's defensive pressure coupled with a distinct height advantage at every position didn't bode well for the Lady Hawks. It also didn't help that Kelly's tallest player -- 5-foot-10 junior Heather Scott -- was out with the flu.

"We like to get (the ball) inside as well as anybody else does," said Vangilder. "But when their point guard is bigger than anybody we have, it takes us out of some things we'd like to do."

Jackson took full advantage of their opponents' 'shortcomings' as 5-10 point guard Christa Millham poured in a game-high 22 points. Junior Melissa Palmer, a 5-10 forward, played strong on the inside for 17 points.

"Melissa played a real smart game," said Cook. "She kicked it out when she got doubled-up and maintained her balance (when she shot the ball).

"She had a strong game inside and posted up well."

Senior Ashley Dirnberger scored a team-high 16 points for Kelly and freshman teammate Marissa Essner added 11 before fouling out.

Kelly used some sharp shooting in the first quarter to take an 11-10 lead late in the first quarter. The Lady Hawks shot 63 percent (5 of 8) in the quarter, but the Lady Indians used a 6-0 run to the end the quarter on top 16-11.

The game was never close after that. Jackson forced 10 turnovers in the second quarter to outscore Kelly 15-6 and take a 31-17 lead at halftime.

"Jackson's going to make you do things you don't want to do," said Vangilder. "Their defense caused plenty of turnovers, but when you make them and it's not the defensive pressure, that's what bothers me."

Kelly still kept it relatively close in the second half until a 16-0 run by Jackson between the third and fourth quarters put the Lady Indians ahead 56-26.

The big lead allowed Cook a chance to get all of his players plenty of playing time on the court.

"I was proud of the girls that came off the bench," Cook said. "We had a little bit more on the bench than (Kelly) did."

Nine players scored for the Lady Indians as they shot 44 percent (25 of 57) from the field. Kelly got all its points from just four players. The Lady Hawks made 42 percent (13-31) of their shots.