CLASS 4A SECTIONAL: LADY INDIANS SET SIGHTS ON MCCLUER

Jackson High girls basketball coach Ron Cook believes his team will have a good chance of winning tonight -- but Cook also realizes that the Lady Indians can take nothing for granted.

"At this time of the year you can't take anybody for granted," he said. "You have to respect all your opponents."

The Lady Indians, ranked second in the state, will carry a 24-2 record into a 6:30 p.m. Class 4A sectional game against unranked McCluer (19-7) at the Farmington Civic Center. The winner earns a berth in Saturday's 4A quarterfinals.

For the Lady Indians, tonight's contest will mark the third straight season they have advanced to the sectional round. And Jackson hasn't stopped there; the Lady Indians have made the 4A Final Four the past two years, finishing second in the state last season and third two years ago.

"We feel really fortunate to have gone this far three years in a row," said Cook. "You better take advantage of it and enjoy it because that doesn't happen very often."

This year, Cook simply feels fortunate that his team was able to get out of its district. Jackson was on the ropes last Thursday against Poplar Bluff, but the Lady Indians rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to claim a 49-45 overtime victory.

"We got pretty lucky to get by that one," said Cook. "You have to win some of those games. But we also made some big plays at the end."

While Jackson pretty well expected to make it at least this far -- with most of their key players back from last year's state runnerup team, the Lady Indians were one of the pre-season favorites for the state title -- McCluer has been something of a surprise, according to coach Spencer Fleming.

"We're fortunate," said Fleming. "We graduated a lot of talented players and we have really done much better than we expected. The girls have really come up to the task."

McCluer is led by strong inside player Larissa Thomas, who averages nearly 15 points and 15 rebounds per game.

Also scoring in double figures for the Lady Comets are Jasmine Bailey (11.3 ppg) and Brandy Smith (10.7 ppg). Yolanda Ellis (9.6 ppg) is a fourth offensive weapon.

"We don't really have anybody stand out. We have a balanced attack with four girls capable of scoring in double figures," Fleming said. "We like to run, shoot the 3-pointer and get the ball inside."

Said Cook of McCluer, "They're quick. They jump and they attack the ball. The Thomas girl is good inside. We'll have to stop her. But they have some holes in their defense so we should be able to score on them."

For Jackson, two-time all-state senior Michele Millham leads a balanced attack with 14 points per game. She is followed by junior Christa Millham -- Michele's younger sister -- at 11 points a contest and senior Shannon Perry at 10 points per game.

"I saw Jackson last year vs. Gateway Tech (in the playoffs)," said Fleming. "We know they're big and physical and they have a very good team. They're ranked second in the state. They have plenty of experience, which is definitely an edge for them."

Added Cook, "We should have a good chance to win, but we can't go in there overconfident. We just have to go out and execute."