THE HEALTHIEST: POPLAR BLUFF TOPS JACKSON IN HEALTHSOUTH TITLE GAME

Friday night's HealthSouth Holiday Classic championship game was a typical catchup between speed and size.

No. 2 seed Poplar Bluff took advantage of its quickness and downed No. 1 Jackson 56-50 at the Show-Me Center.

After trailing most of the game, the Lady Mules tied it at 39 with 6:06 left when senior guard Amy Hendricks swished a 3-pointer. It was the first time Poplar Bluff wasn't trailing since the first quarter when it was 2-2.

Hendricks, who was a menace on defense, drained another three with 4:22 left to give her team its first lead of the game, 42-39. Hendricks, who made four 3-pointers, scored nine of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter.

"They played mostly guards," Jackson coach Ron Cook said. "It's hard to match up with their speed. They outhustled us and they were probably more physical."

Another Poplar Bluff guard, junior Erika Emmons, also hit some clutch baskets. With about 3:30 to go and ahead 42-41, the Lady Mules went with a stalling offense. Emmons caught the Lady Indians off guard, drove to the basket and made her free throw after being fouled.

Two possessions later, Emmons scored on another layup to put Poplar Bluff (7-2) up 48-43.

"One thing that we wanted to try to do was put pressure on their guards," Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister said. "If we let them get the ball inside, we were in trouble. I thought our kids did a good job of keeping constant pressure on them up front."

The Lady Mules' lead expanded to 50-43 before Jackson's Lindsey Hobeck hit a 3-pointer with 1:27 left.

Jackson (5-1) was able to eventually cut the lead to 50-48, but Poplar Bluff made its last six free throws to seal the game. The Lady Mules, who downed Cape Central 46-44 in the tournament semifinal, made 10-of-11 free throws in the fourth quarter and hit 16-of-19 for the game.

Senior Melissa Palmer scored a team-high 10 points for Jackson. The Lady Indians had eight players score, seven of which scored at least five.

Through 2 1/2 quarters, Jackson seemed in complete control. The Lady Indians led 12-8 after the first quarter and 27-21 at halftime.

Jackson held an 11-point lead, 24-13 with 3:41 left in the second quarter.

Cook thought one reason for Jackson's tailspin was the Lady Indians' inability -- despite a distinct size advantage -- to keep Poplar Bluff off of the offensive boards.

"They outrebounded us," Cook said. "We have a bigger-sized team, but it has to do with quickness and aggressiveness and they have that. We didn't do a good job of blocking them off and getting the ball. When you get two and three shots at the basket, you're going to win it."

Chronister wasn't surprised that the Lady Mules outrebounded Jackson.

"We haven't had a team outrebound us this year," Chronister said. "That's something that we concentrate on. Most of the teams we play are bigger than us. We really work on getting position underneath the boards."

HealthSouth Holiday Classic

Friday's Results

(Championship)

Jackson xx, Poplar Bluff xx

(Third place)

Cape Central xx, Notre Dame xx

(Fifth place)

Perryville 62, Scott Co. Central 46

(Seventh place)

Kelly 36, Scott City 33