POPLAR BLUFF CLAIMS HEALTHSOUTH TITLE; NOTRE DAME FALLS 53-31 IN CHAMPIONSHIP

The general went down and the troops followed.

When Jennifer Glueck, Notre Dame High's senior guard, left the championship game of the second annual HealthSouth Holiday Classic early in the second quarter with a finger injury, the score was tied at 14-14.

Although Glueck returned with taped fingers late in the quarter, Notre Dame never recovered what it lost with her on the bench.

Notre Dame scored just one point in the second quarter, and top-seeded Poplar Bluff beat the No. 3 Lady Bulldogs 53-31 Friday night at the Show Me Center.

Notre Dame had beaten Jackson, ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, in a semifinal game. And for a little over a quarter it seemed that the Lady Bulldogs, who held a 13-12 first-quarter lead, might upset Poplar Bluff, the No. 7-ranked 4A team.

"We started out playing with (Poplar Bluff)," said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim. "We were leading after the first quarter; it was a pretty even matchup after one quarter."

Rachael Schlosser, a 5-foot-8 senior, scored nine of her team-leading 12 points in the first quarter.

But when Glueck left the game early in the next quarter, Notre Dame (9-2) fell apart. The Lady Mules outscored Notre Dame 14-1 in the second quarter and led 26-14 at halftime.

"My point guard got hurt ... and we just kind of slipped apart after that," Grim said. "I think it was (the turning point). She basically runs the team. When she went out, we didn't handle it very well."

Glueck returned with 1:56 left in the half, but the tide didn't turn. Notre Dame trailed 37-20 entering the fourth quarter and never cut the deficit any further.

The Lady Bulldogs committed 27 turnovers and shot 12 of 42 (29 percent) from the field. Poplar Bluff (8-0) turned the ball over 14 times and outrebounded Notre Dame 30-18.

"We were able to put a lot of pressure on them," said Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister. "We were also able to control the boards, and those are two things that were two factors.

"The second quarter was a big quarter for us. I thought the kids played real good defense. We were fortunate that we were able to hit some buckets and build a comfortable lead."

Randi Senciboy, who scored 25 points in Notre Dame's first-round win against Scott County Central, was held to two points.

Poplar Bluff's Holly Teague, a 5-7 senior, scored a game-high 19 points.

Poplar Bluff placed Emily Wyatt and Amy Hendricks on the all-tournament team while Notre Dame saw Schlosser and Senciboy honored. Also named to the 10-person team: Christa Millham and Chrissi Glastetter of Jackson, Amy Harris of Cape Central, Amy O'Brien of Scott City, Renee Kaempfe of Perryville and Ashley Dirnberger of Kelly.

Jackson 59, Cape Central 48

After suffering an upset loss to Notre Dame in a semifinal game, for more than three quarters it looked as though No. 2 Jackson might fall to an even greater underdog, No. 4 Cape Central.

But Jackson, behind a furious full-court press and Millham's 19 points overall and 16 in the fourth quarter, allowed no sequel.

Cape Central led 43-40 with less than five minutes remaining, but three consecutive turnovers led to a 13-0 run by Jackson in the next two minutes. The Lady Indians opened a 53-43 lead with under three minutes left and eventually won the third-place game.

Central (5-3) came within a point, 22-21, with 55 seconds left in the half on a transition basket by 5-11 freshman Katie Dougherty, who scored 11 points.

Jackson led 26-22 at halftime as Melissa Palmer scored nine of her 11 points in the second quarter.

The third quarter was close throughout; neither team led by more than six points and it was tied at 36-36 entering the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was all Millham. The 5-10 senior hit eight of 13 free throws in the period as Jackson (6-1) outscored Central 23-12 in the quarter.

Jackson's Glastetter scored 12 points. Dionna Webb led Central with 14 points and Harris added 10.

Scott City 43, Kelly 39

Dirnberger, a 5-6 senior, scored eight of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, but No. 8 Kelly's comeback fell short and No. 7 Scott City won the fifth-place game.

Although Kelly (7-3) outscored Scott City 19-14 in the final quarter, the Lady Rams led 20-11 at halftime and 29-20 entering the fourth period.

Becca Gowin led Scott City with 12 points and O'Brien added 11.

Scott City (7-2) won despite making just 15 of 32 free throws.

Perryville 65, Scott County 49

After scoring 14 points in Perryville's first two games of the tournament, Kaempfe, a 6-0 senior, exploded for 33 points against Scott County Central in the seventh-place game.

No. 5 Perryville trailed 16-14 after one quarter, but Kaempfe scored 13 points in the second quarter and the Lady Pirates led 37-32 at halftime.

Perryville then outscored the No. 6 Bravettes 28-17 in the second half behind Kaempfe's 10 second-quarter points.

April Watts added 12 points for Perryville (6-3) and Laura Ernst finished with 10.

For Central (4-5), Danika Kidd scored 18 points and Brandy Miller added 13.

HealthSouth Classic

Championship

Poplar Bluff 53, Notre Dame 31

Third place

Jackson 59, Cape Central 48

Fifth place

Scott City 43, Kelly 39

Seventh place

Perryville 65, Scott County 49