If experience breeds confidence, then Poplar Bluff's self assurance was decisive in a 53-37 victory over a tentative Notre Dame squad.
The Lady Bulldogs may have been intimidated before the game even started, facing top-seeded Poplar Bluff in a semifinal match in the HealthSouth Holiday Classic at the Show Me Center Tuesday night.
Poplar Bluff the HealthSouth champions the last two years -- started three seniors, while Notre Dame's starting lineup contained a freshman and three sophomores.
"There was a definite let down in our confidence," said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim. "You have to realize we're young and sometimes we play that way. We were intimidated by Poplar Bluff's reputation itself."
Poplar Bluff -- ranked sixth in Missouri for 4A schools -- improved to 8-1 and will face third-seeded Cape Central for the HealthSouth championship at 8 tonight.
Notre Dame -- the sixth-ranked team in class 2A -- fell to 7-2 and will go up against Jackson at 6:30 in the third-place game.
The Lady Bulldogs actually led 8-6 after the first quarter, but an aggressive Poplar Bluff man-to-man defense rattled Notre Dame's fragile psyche.
Halfway through the second quarter, Erika Emmons -- the top scorer for Poplar Bluff with 13 points -- converted a three-point play on a Notre Dame foul to tie the game at 17-17. The Lady Mules took the lead a few seconds later -- while going on a 10-2 scoring run -- and never trailed thereafter.
Poplar Bluff's Likicia Hawes tossed in 10 points to round out a balanced Lady Mule attack that saw 10 players finish in the scoring ledger.
The Lady Mules shot 52 percent from the floor for the game and took a 27-19 lead into halftime.
"We really didn't play well at all in the first quarter," said veteran Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister. "We came out strong in the second, eliminated our turnovers and used our press to hurt Notre Dame a little."
The Lady Bulldogs turned the ball over 21 times and only converted on 36 percent of their shots from the field.
"They have several players that can hurt you in different ways," said Chronister, "and we had to contain them."
Poplar Bluff began to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring Notre Dame 15-5 for an insurmountable 42-24 lead.
"They were putting pressure on our guards and we started making bad decisions," said Grim.
Adding to Notre Dame's woes was poor free-throw shooting.
Poplar Bluff's aggressive defense resulted in 17 chances from the line for Notre Dame, but the Lady Bulldogs could only convert on six of those attempts.
"We'll learn from this loss," said Grim, "and look forward to playing Poplar Bluff again in January."
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