Hammontree shines but can't stop Jackson's commanding win

The Jackson Indians girls basketball team defeated the Sikeston Bulldogs 75-20 on Wednesday at the Jackson High School Event Center.

Kate Deck led the Indians on offense with 14 points while Landri Hammontree led the Bulldogs with 17.

The first quarter was the Hammontree show as the Sikeston senior scored all 11 of her team's points off 3-4 three-point shooting. Jackson still maintained a 19-11 lead by forcing the other Sikeston players to turn the ball over and scoring easy buckets at the rim.

Indians head coach Angela Fulton was complimentary toward Hammontree and how she played the game.

“She's a good player. It’s just something you have to respect,” Fulton said. “We just tried to turn them over enough, so when she did score, it didn’t hurt us as bad.”

In the second quarter, Jackson slowed Hammontree down and continued forcing turnovers to extend their lead to 39-15 entering halftime.

After the break, things continued in Jackson’s favor with several turnovers leading to easy transition baskets to extend their lead to 58-19.

Both teams unloaded their benches in the fourth and the running clock ended the night early.

Fulton said this game and Friday’s game will be good for her team as the postseason approaches.

“We’re gonna come in tomorrow and get back at it. We have some things to work on before Hazelwood West on Friday,” Fulton said. “Our district has good competition. We just have to stay the course, focus on one game at a time and keep working on the days that we're able to work. Hopefully moving forward it'll pay off.”

Jackson hosts Hazelwood West on Friday at 7 p.m. before closing their regular season at Notre Dame on Monday. Sikeston’s regular season ends at 15-10 and the Bulldogs will face Farmington in the first round of the Class 5 District 1 tournament at 8:30 p.m. next Thursday at Cape Central High School.