JACKSON TEAMS SPLIT IN 4A SECTIONALS; LADY INDIANS DOMINATE WASHINGTON, ROLL 58-34

FARMINGTON -- And the beat goes on.

For the fourth straight season, Jackson High's girls basketball team dominated its Class 4A sectional game. The Lady Indians (24-2) beat Washington 58-34 Wednesday night at the Farmington Civic Center.

The difference: a 22-2 third-quarter edge.

And it almost didn't happen.

"We were about ready to go back to halfcourt (defense)," Jackson coach Ron Cook said, "but I'm glad that (assistant) coach (Sam) Sides suggested keeping the pressure on. It worked out to our benefit."

Like winning the lottery.

Jackson, ranked No. 3 in Missouri Class 4A, led 27-19 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Lady Indians forced nine turnovers. Washington didn't attempt a shot until midway through the period, and the Lady Blue Jays didn't score until the 2:35 mark.

After the smoke cleared, Jackson took a 49-21 lead into the final quarter -- and left Washington coach Misty Thomas impressed.

"I think (Jackson is) the best team in the state. And I've seen a lot of teams," she said. "They got us. I respect their talent. I think they could go all the way this year."

Washington (22-7) turned the ball over 26 times and shot 26 percent from the field, 19 percent in the last three quarters.

"We've not come up against pressure like that," Thomas said. "We've come up against some great teams ... but they are the epitome of a good press. We just fell apart."

"In the third quarter we got down and worked hard and got all the loose balls and rebounds and came up with a big quarter," said Jackson guard Christa Millham, who had a team-high 13 points. "We got a lot of layups and cheap points because our press was very effective. We were finishing well, too."

It took a quarter, but once Jackson grasped Washington's game plan -- pound the ball to 6-foot senior center Eliza Hoemer -- the Lady Indians steadily gained control. Hoemer scored 10 of her game-high 15 points in the first period as Jackson led 14-12.

"We didn't do a very good job the first half (on Hoemer)," Cook said. "You've got to put a body on her and front her. I wasn't satisfied with the effort tonight inside in the first half."

After Hoemer, no Lady Jay had more than five points. Stephanie Albright, Washington's leading scorer this season (11 points per game), was held scoreless.

Chrissi Glastetter scored 12 points for Jackson. Cherish Tillman finished with eight points and Melissa Palmer and Dana Littlepage each added six.

"It was a team effort," Cook said.

But not as good as in Friday's 57-33 win over Poplar Bluff in the district championship game.

"We played a lot better against Poplar Bluff, I feel like," Cook said. "The chemistry tonight wasn't as good. We looked too mechanical tonight. We need to move our feet on defense in the first quarter. I didn't think we were ready to play."

Jackson will meet Cor Jesu at the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal game. The winner will earn a berth in the Class 4A Final Four in Columbia, where the Lady Indians have been the last three seasons.

Cor Jesu, which lost by a wide margin to Jackson early in the season, edged Kirkwood 57-55 in another sectional game Wednesday night.