LADY MULES END LADY TIGER SEASON; JACKSON ADVANCES

FARMINGTON -- Cape Central's girls saw their season end at thje hands of Poplar Bluff for the second straight year as the Lady Mules set up a district championship showdown with top-seeded Jackson.

Jackson, which seeks to return to the state championship game, defeated Farmington 73-41 to reach the title game. Poplar Bluff mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Cape Central for a third straight time this season.

An Anesha Webb basket off an offensive rebound with three seconds left proved the fatal blow as the senior broke a 46-46 deadlock.

Cape Central finished its season at 19-7.

"This is a tough loss for us," said Cape Central coach Paula Watkins. "We lost in district to them last year by two points."

Senior Laura Lukens scored a game-high 19 points for Cape Central and fellow senior Nichole Thiele added 10.

Holly Teague finished with 12 points to lead Poplar Bluff, while Shuntae Johnson added 11. Webb tallied 10.

Central led most of the game, leading 17-14 after one quarter and 29-25 at intermission. The Lady Tigers took a 38-34 lead into the fourth quarter.

"I hate if for the seniors. They've been such a tremendous class. I've had the opportunity to coach them for five year. They've been like daughters to me. It's something we wanted bad. Unfortunately we hapoped to be in what is probably the toughest district in the state."

The Lady Indians rolled into the title game with a convincing win over the fourth-seeded Lady Knights thanks to an early run.

Jackson (23-2) jumped on top 23-6 after the first quarter to put the game out of reach. Christa Millham led the Lady Indians with 20 points and sister Michelle added 13. Shannon Perry contributed 11 points to the win that will put Jackson in the district final against Poplar Bluff for the seventh consecutive year.

The Lady Indians are 5-1 in those championship meetings and are 2-0 agaist the Lady Mules this season..

The championship game will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Boys basketball

Class 3A, District 2

PARK HILLS -- Second-seeded Perryville advanced to the semifinals of its district tournament with a 67-39 victory over seventh-seeded Fredericktown.

Perryville (25-2), ranked No. 8 in Class 3A, will face No. 3 seed Arcadia Valley Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Arcadia Valley (21-6) advanced with a victory over Ste. Genevieve.

Matt Meyr paced Perryville with a game-high 24 points while Scott Kassel added 20. Bruce Weinkein netted 12 points.

Jeff Grindstaff, 12 points, was the lone double-digit scorer for Fredericktown.

Perryville opened a 17-10 lead by the close of the first quarter and held a comfortable 33-16 lead at halftime.

St. Vincent 63, Valle 66

STE. GENEVIEVE -- Joe Rozier scored on a three-point play with three seconds left to break a 63-63 tie and lifted Valle to victory.

St. Vincent (9-14) rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit before stumbling at the wire. Valle led 31-23 at halftime and took a 52-45 lead into the final eight minutes.

Jonathan Wengert scored a game-high 18 points for St. Vincent. Jason Cissell added 16 and Chad Winkler netted 14.

Bryan Meyer paced Valle with 17 points.

St. Vincent will visit Meadow Heights on Friday.