TIGER SHOOTOUT: LADY TIGERS CATCH TERRIERS NAPPING

Carbondale (Ill.) girls coach Karrie Jackson said it normally takes her team until the second half before they wake up and play well.

Central coach Paula Watkins might still be waiting for her team to regain consciousness after watching the Lady Tigers sleepwalk past the Lady Terriers.

Despite a lackluster performance Saturday in the Tiger Shootout, Central improved to 9-4 with a 43-39 victory over the Lady Terriers.

"We did enough to win, but we didn't do any extra," said a disappointed Watkins. "We're not playing with fire like we need to. We just kind of went through the motions."

Central shot 70 percent and used solid full-court pressure to cause 10 turnovers in the first quarter and took a 20-8 lead. But the Lady Tigers appeared to coast the rest of the way.

Kim Aslinger scored seven of her game-high 13 points in the opening quarter. Central's Dionna Webb played a solid defensive game with 10 steals and seven assists.

"We did a pretty good job with our press early in the game, but then we just quit moving our feet and let them dribble right through us," Watkins said. "We had to call off the press because it wasn't doing us any good.

"We played so flat -- so lifeless. That's what bothers me the most."

Carbondale outscored the Lady Tigers 10-5 in the second quarter to pull to within 32-25 at halftime. The Lady Terriers closed the gap to 27-23 early in the third quarter after a 5-0 scoring run by LaTona Bryant.

"It normally takes us a whole half to warm-up," said Jackson. "I don't know if it's my halftime chat or what, but we usually come out ready to play in the second half."

Central closed the quarter with a 5-2 run to remain ahead 32-25 entering the final quarter. The two teams battled back-and-forth in the final frame before two driving buckets by Aslinger gave Central its biggest lead (43-31) with less than two minutes left.

Carbondale's Mevett Wooley drilled two late 3-pointers to make the final margin as the Lady Terriers fell to 7-8. Wooley led Carbondale with nine points on three 3-pointers.

Said Jackson: "Six of our eight losses have been by seven points or less."

Carbondale turned the ball over 24 times, several times leading directly to Central layups. As a result, the Lady Tigers shot 51 percent (18 of 35) from the field. Carbondale, despite causing 23 Central turnovers, shot just 37 percent (15 of 41) for the game.