CENTRAL GIRLS RALLY PAST JACKSON

SIKESTON -- Legs. Arch. Follow through.

The directions sound as easy to perform as shampooing one's hair.

But when the game is on the line in a district championship contest against an arch rival, those simple instructions of completing a 15-foot set shot couldn't have been as easy Cape Girardeau Central High's Dionna Webb made them look.

Webb made three free throws in the game's final 25 seconds to seal the game as the Lady Tigers -- ranked 10th in Class 4A at 21-4 -- defeated Jackson (13-11) 40-36 Tuesday night to advance to the 4A, District 1 Tournament finals against Poplar Bluff at 6 p.m. Thursday.

With her team up 37-36 and 24.9 seconds left, Webb was fouled on a shot. Jackson coach Ron Cook called a timeout to make her think about it.

What was going through her mind?

Said Webb: "Legs, arch and follow through."

Swish.

Webb repeated the process two more times down the stretch, putting the game out of reach with five seconds left by hitting a free throw and extending the lead to the game's final margin.

Though Webb is not the team's best free-throw shooter, "She's the senior captain and that's who you want up there," said Cape Central coach Darrick Smith. "She calmly got up there and said 'no problem.' Dionna showed a lot of poise hitting those free throws."

While Webb showed poise at the free-throw line, another Lady Tiger showed it from 3-point range.

With 1:15 left in the game, sophomore guard Sara Hyslop received a pass at the top of the key and drained a wide-open three to give Central a 37-36 lead it's first lead since early in the first quarter and a lead the Lady Tigers would not relinquish.

"As soon as she caught it, I knew she was going to make it," said Webb, who delivered the assist one of her six assists in the game. "And when it went, I knew we had the game won."

It was the first 3-pointer Hyslop had made in Central's last eight games.

"She showed a lot of guts by hitting that shot," said Smith. "She can shoot threes. She's got that capability. She squared up like she was supposed to and it looked good from the release."

While Cape Central was hitting big shots, the young Lady Indians couldn't get much of anything going in the fourth quarter.

Jackson led 33-28 going into the fourth quarter but Central outscored the Lady Indians 12-3 in the period. Jackson didn't make a shot from the field in the final 10 1/2 minutes of the game.

"We were in control," said Jackson coach Ron Cook, whose team led by as many as eight midway through the third quarter. "But you have to hit free throws down the stretch and we didn't. They did a good job on defense. The tried to keep the ball out of (Andrea) Koeper's hands and after awhile that wears you down."

Jackson made two of six free throws in the fourth quarter and missed the front end of two one-and-one situations. Jackson made just five of its 12 free throws for the game. Koeper, who averages about 16 points per game, scored just eight points.

"Our experience of digging deep has helped us," said Webb, who has led Central to many fourth-quarter comebacks this season. "We've been in that type of situation before. All of us stepped up on defense and helped out each other really well. And I think they were getting a little frustrated when they couldn't get good shots off."

Central had uncanny scoring balance Tuesday night. Only five players scored including Katie Dougherty with a team-high 11 points. But Webb, Hyslop and Mindy Hoffman each added seven points and Heather Jenkins scored eight points and pulled down nine rebounds.

Central got off to a rugged start, committing seven turnovers in the first quarter alone and found itself down 11-6 after the opening period.

The Lady Tigers cut into the lead in the second quarter and trailed just 18-15 at halftime.

Cape Central committed 15 turnovers, many of which were caused by Jackson's full-court press. Jackson committed 10 turnovers but made just one of its 10 3-point attempts.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well. Central shot just 34 percent on 15 of 44 and Jackson shot 38 percent on 15 of 39.

Cape Central made seven of its nine free-throw attempts.

Jackson's leading scorers were Cherish Tillman and Whitney Werner with 10 points each.

* In the other semifinal game Tuesday night, top-seeded Poplar Bluff defeated No. 4 Farmington 48-33.

Erika Emmons and Likicia Hawes each scored 10 points to lead the Lady Mules, ranked sixth in 4A.