Smart play inside key for Jackson

Connor King, the Jackson girls basketball team's 6-foot-1 post presence, knew that the taller and talented Alex Hilyer would need to be slowed down in her team's game against Eureka at Saturday's Notre Dame Shootout.

"We wanted to contain the big girl," King said simply after the Indians' 60-42 victory over the Wildcats.

"I denied and fronted and we had great weak side," she said. "I mean, she hit a couple 17-, 19-footers, but that's better than going to the basket.

"She didn't get them easily."

Hilyer finished with 27 points, but King matched her for most of the game inside to help propel Jackson to an comfortable win.

Jackson's Connor King and Eureka's Alex Hillyer fight for position under the basket for a rebound during the fourth quarter of a game during the Notre Dame Shootout on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011, in Cape Girardeau. Jackson won 60-42. (Kristin Eberts)

"Connor had a great game," Jackson coach Shelia Haertling said. "She played very well. She did what she needed to do. We've been working a lot on her shot faking, going up strong off two feet, rebounding the ball, and I think she's gotten better and better even since the beginning of the season."

Hilyer, a junior, was 10 of 23 from the field.

"I thought it went well," Haertling said of her team's defense. "I thought we did what we needed to do. She still scored a lot of points. She's a great player, but we knew she was going to score. It was just a matter of limiting her points."

King, who claimed she had been in slump entering the game, finished with a team-high 19 points.

"I don't know if she was in a slump," Jackson senior Brooke Sanders said. "She was down on herself, I guess, but she played awesome tonight. We got her open looks and then they focused on her and the guards got open looks."

Jackson's Paden Wachter brings the ball up the court as Eureka's Melissa Menchella defends during the fourth quarter Saturday. Check out more photos from the game in our gallery at semoball.com. (Kristin Eberts)

Sanders was a regular beneficiary and finished with 18 points while five other Jackson players scored in the game.

"We knew that they had a big girl and we were going to have to score around her, but it was just something that just happened," King said. "You could tell that we weren't trying to be the superstar. We were all contributing. We were all doing our jobs and we did them well."

Jackson outscored Eureka in every quarter, but it was an 11-2 run during a 21-point second quarter that created separation between the teams.

"We did a lot better job of driving and dishing and we were finishing and we were hitting our open looks," King said. We just did it."

Haertling said it was a commitment to executing an installed offense rather than any special plan that led to the Indians' success.

"We really just focus on running our offense and setting good screens and letting the offense create the open shots for us," Haertling said. "Sometimes we have a tendency to want to force things."

The Indians built a 33-21 lead by halftime, but a 6-0 run by Eureka to start the second half led to a quick timeout.

"We had a breakdown on defense and we talked about how we've got to get down," Haertling said. "The reason we were even in the game was because we played great defense."

The Indians (8-4) responded with a 14-2 run of their own and maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

"I was pretty pleased with our play," Haertling said. "I thought we did a good job collectively. I thought the team played really well together and unselfish. I was pretty pleased with our defense."

Jackson will travel to Fredericktown for a 6 p.m. game Monday against the Blackcats.

Eureka 8 13 13 8 -- 42

Jackson 12 21 14 13 -- 60

EUREKA (42) -- Melissa Menchella 2, Torie Allen 2, Nicole Roman 3, Annie Westbury 8, Alex Hilyer 27. FG 17, FT 6-14, F 17. (3-pointers: Roman 1, Hilyer 1. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (60) -- Dru Haertling 6, Rachel Hodo 2, Brooke Sanders 18, Connor King 19, Kylie Seyer 4, Danielle Daume 3, Makenzie Quade 8. FG 22, FT 14-20, F 14. (3-pointers: King 1, Daume 1. Fouled out: none)