NOTRE DAME GIRLS NUDGE JACKSON ASIDE 52-47

JACKSON -- When it comes to girls basketball programs, Jackson -- which dominated the region the last several years -- is the original recipe.

But both Jackson and upstart Notre Dame were extra crispy Thursday night.

Crisp passing, crisp execution of the offense, crisp defense and crisp shooting were all on display Thursday night as the Lady Bulldogs pulled out a late 52-47 victory in an epic battle in front of a big crowd at Jackson High School.

For two teams which start a collective four sophomores and two freshmen, inexperience was not evident.

Jackson (8-8) turned the ball over just eight times and Notre Dame (14-3) just nine. There were 25 ties and lead changes and the final score was the largest margin of the game.

"I thought both teams played well," said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim, whose team is ranked fifth in Class 2A. "We played real well tonight. We didn't turn the ball over much and we were real patient."

The game came down to the final minute of play. With exactly 1 minute remaining, Jackson -- which led 37-35 going into the final quarter -- found itself down 47-45.

But the Lady Indians had a shot blocked on their next possession and missed an easy layup on the one thereafter before Notre Dame's Courtney Vickery put the game away with two free throws with :32 left.

Notre Dame, which starts three sophomores and a freshman, was poised beyond years in the fourth quarter, making four of its seven shots from the field and nine of its 12 free throws.

The Lady Bulldogs got most of its production in the final eight minutes from their leading scorer, Lisa Millham. Millham, whose older sisters Michelle and Christy starred at Jackson before playing collegiate basketball, scored seven of her team-high 19 points in the final eight minutes.

But Millham thought her team's defensive play in the fourth quarter was just as big as her offensive output.

"We wanted to stop Andrea (Koeper)," said Millham of Jackson's leading scorer who posted a game-high 21 points. "We just had a man on her all the time and zoned everybody else."

Koeper was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 15 points including a long 2-pointer at the buzzer which gave the Lady Indians a 29-26 halftime lead.

But Notre Dame, thanks to Vickery's pressure, held Koeper to just six points in the second half.

"Courtney did a good job on her," said Grim, adding that he thinks Koeper is the most talented basketball player in the region. "We kept a body on her and once she gave it up, we didn't want her to get it back."

Jackson led most of the fourth quarter until Millham made two free throws with 3:51 left that tied the game at 43. After Koeper tied the game at 45 on a spin move in the paint with 1:12 left to go, Notre Dame's Deana McCormick, who scored 14 points in limited action due to foul trouble, muscled in a shot with 1:00 left to give Notre Dame a 47-45 lead.

Notre Dame never trailed thereafter.

Though his team fell short in the final minute, Jackson coach Ron Cook was pleased with his team's performance.

"In the fourth quarter we tightened up a bit," said Cook. "But it was a good ballgame. I thought we played pretty good and I hope we learn and mature from this."

Both teams sizzled from the floor in the first half. Jackson hit 42 percent of its shots and made four of eight from 3-point range. But Jackson ended up shooting just 33 percent for the game on 17 of 51 from the field. And it made only one of its nine threes in the second half.

"Jackson shot the ball extremely well in the first half," Grim said. "If they would've kept that up, we couldn't have kept up."

Notre Dame ended up shooting 53 percent (19 of 36) from the field.