LADY MULES PROVE TOO STUBBORN FOR CENTRAL IN DISTRICT TITLE GAME

SIKESTON -- When a team plays defense as well as the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules, and when a team shoots as poorly as Cape Central did, the outcome isn't pretty.

At least for Cape Central.

Poplar Bluff, ranked sixth in the state, posted a 53-29 blowout over 10th-ranked Cape Central to claim the Class 4A, District 1 Tournament at Sikeston Field House.

Central, which was looking for its first district championship since 1989, shot just 24 percent from the field (11 of 46) and hit just two of its 16 3-point attempts.

"There were other factors," said Central coach Darrick Smith who announced after the game he will not coach girls basketball next year. "But the bottom line was we couldn't get it to go in the hole."

It didn't matter what kind of shot Central put up.

Whether it was a layup, a putback, a 15-footer or a three, the Lady Tigers shots found a whole lot of rim and very little net.

"Once we started missing, then things started snowballing on us," Smith said.

Poplar Bluff put the game away in the third quarter, going on a 16-9 run and breaking out to a 41-23 lead going into the fourth quarter. Poplar Bluff made 11 of its 15 shots during that span and scored on eight of its 14 possessions.

Central (22-5), which defeated Bluff (22-3) earlier this year, started having shooting troubles from the opening tip.

Despite having some good looks and numerous offensive rebounds early in the first quarter, the Lady Tigers didn't score in the first three minutes of the game.

The Lady Tigers missed their first six shots and quickly found themselves down 8-0.

Poplar Bluff, meanwhile, made four of its first five shots from the field and gave Central fits with its pressure. The Lady Mules ended up taking a 16-9 lead into the second quarter on 6 of 12 shooting.

The struggles continued for Central in the second quarter.

Bluff got out to its first double-figure lead of the game in the first possession of the second quarter when Jessica Wilson hit a three to make the score 19-9.

Cape Central made just two of its 12 shots in the second quarter and found itself trailing 25-14 at halftime. The Lady Tigers ended up making just five of their 23 shots in the first 16 minutes of the game.

Ashley Williams scored a game-high 22 points for Poplar Bluff and Likicia Hawes added 10 points. Katie Dougherty scored a team-high nine points for Central, followed by Heather Jenkins with eight.

Although the season ended on a bitter note, Smith was proud of his team.

The Lady Tigers posted their first 20-win season since 1989 and was state-ranked for most of the season.

"I told the kids to not let this one game take away from what we've done," said Smith. "We accomplished a lot of great things."

Smith, who is an assistant baseball and football coach, said he is stepping down as coach to spend more time with his family.

"We're going to try to find a quality person to coach this team," he said. "This is a great situation for someone to come in because we got some quality players coming back."