Mules oust Jackson girls in district semifinals

~ Poplar Bluff ended the Indians' season with a late 3-pointer to win 45-42

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- One impressive winning streak was assured of coming to an end, along with a solid season.

Unfortunately for Jackson's Indians, it was their campaign that ended suddenly Wednesday.

In a Class 5 District 1 girls basketball tournament semifinal that could not have been closer, second-seeded and host Poplar Bluff edged third-seeded Jackson 45-42 on a 3-point basket in the closing seconds.

That ended the Indians' six-game winning streak as they finished the campaign 17-7.

Jackson's Laurie Clippard, left, and Brooke Sanders trap Poplar Bluff's Courtney Knuckles during the first half of their Class 5 District 1 semifinal Wednesday in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

The defending district champion Mules (17-8) notched their sixth straight victory and advanced to Friday's 6 p.m. title contest against top-seeded Central.

"We knew it was going to be a close game," Jackson coach Sheila Haertling said. "We had a hard time scoring, but I'm very proud of our defense."

Considering that Poplar Bluff beat visiting Jackson in double overtime earlier this season, Wednesday's rematch figured to be tight.

It turned out that way as there were 16 lead changes and five ties. The Mules' biggest lead was six points, while the Indians' largest advantage was five points.

"We were hoping it would be close," Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister said. "Jackson has an awfully good ballclub and at times we struggle to score."

There were 10 lead changes in the second half alone.

Jackson was ahead 38-37 midway through the fourth quarter when Poplar Bluff scored five straight points to go up 42-38.

The Indians battled back and tied things at 42-42 on a steal and layup by senior guard Kaylen Knepp with 49 seconds remaining.

Poplar Bluff ran down the clock and Chronister was hoping to take a final shot with hardly any time left.

It didn't quite work out that way, but the Mules weren't complaining after senior guard Ruthie Johnson buried a 3-pointer from the left corner with 12 seconds to play.

"I felt good," the 5-foot-3 Johnson said. "I was thinking I don't want to go into no more overtimes like last time [against Jackson]."

Said Chronister: "We were going to go for the last shot. Ruthie struggled early. I told her you're trying to force things. Just let it happen. At that time I guess she let it happen."

Poplar Bluff still had two fouls to give before putting Jackson in the bonus, so the Mules used those fouls to run some time off the clock.

That left Jackson with 5.7 seconds left. The Indians threw an inbound pass over the mid-court line and had to track it down, which cost them several valuable seconds.

After another ball was knocked out of bounds by Poplar Bluff, Jackson inbounded from in the Mules' end of the court with 1.7 seconds remaining.

Jackson ran into tight defense and took a shot that was ruled to have come from just inside the 3-point line, so it couldn't have forced overtime anyway. Poplar Bluff blocked the attempt for good measure.

"We tried to set up a play to get off a 3-point shot. Obviously it didn't work," Haertling said.

Knepp and sophomore center Connor King led Jackson with 11 points each. Junior guard Brooke Sanders added 10 points.

Johnson paced Poplar Bluff, which led 22-19 at halftime, with a game-high 17 points.

Despite the loss, Haertling had nothing but praise for the Indians.

"This year has been tremendous. They're just great people," Haertling said. "I told them I'm so proud how much they came along from 11-13 last year to 17-7."

Jackson 8 11 11 12 -- 42

Poplar Bluff 8 14 9 14 -- 45

JACKSON (42) -- Dru Haertling 2, Brooke Sanders 10, Kaylen Knepp 11, Connor King 11, Kylie Seyer 4, Cassandra Bollinger 2, Makenzie Quade 2. FG 17, FT 7-10, F 15. (3-pointers: Knepp 1. Fouled out: none)

POPLAR BLUFF (45) -- Ruthie Johnson 17, Dennisha Rice 9, Chelsea Darnell 7, Abby Ivie 2, Marissa Webb 6, Courtney Knuckles 4. FG 19, FT 3-7, F 11. (3-pointers: Johnson 3, Rice 1. Fouled out: none)