JACKSON ROUTS NOTRE DAME TO REACH FINAL

This sequel was a dud.

Jackson High's girls basketball team dropped a cliff-hanger to Notre Dame last season in the HealthSouth Holiday Classic, but Wednesday the Lady Indians were no longer living on the edge.

In efficient and unsuspenseful fashion, Jackson blasted Notre Dame 57-34 in a semifinal game.

Top-seeded Jackson (5-0) will take on No. 2 Poplar Bluff (7-2) tonight at 8:30 in a clash featuring southeast Missouri's best teams.

Jackson once again pounced on its opponent with a furious first quarter. The Lady Indians' fierce defensive pressure coaxed Notre Dame into several bad passes and seven turnovers in the first quarter.

Four minutes into the game the Lady Indians led 9-2 as guard Kara Thoma fed Koeper for a transition score. An eight-point run in which Koeper completed a three-point play, Thoma hit a 3-pointer and Dana Littlepage lofted in a left-handed hook shot pushed Jackson ahead 17-4.

Jackson's Koeper, a 5-foot-9 sophomore who finished with 10 points and a team-high six steals, scored seven points in the opening period as the Lady Indians carried a 17-6 lead into the second quarter.

"Our press was effective in the first quarter," said Jackson coach Ron Cook. "It took its toll on Notre Dame."

Things didn't improve for Notre Dame in the second quarter, as Jackson forced eight more turnovers and outscored the Lady Bulldogs 19-6 for a 36-10 halftime advantage.

"We played a very good team," said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim, "but we made them look pretty good in the first half. We are kind of noted this year for our turnovers, so I expected turnovers."

And Grim got 20 of them, but only five in the second half as Notre Dame outscored Jackson 24-21.

Jackson's Cherish Tillman, a junior post player, totaled 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting, and Lindsey Hobeck, a sophomore guard, hit three 3-pointers and posted a game-high 17 points off the bench.

Jill Seratti's 11 points paced Notre Dame.

After winning the inaugural HealthSouth Classic's championship in 1996 and losing to Notre Dame by one point in the semifinals last season, Cook said Jackson is "glad to be back in the finals."

And the Lady Indians are anxious for the challenge.

"Bluff is going to come out and put a lot of heat on us, a lot of pressure," Cook said. "We'll find out more about ourselves, how we handle the press and the man-to-man defense."

Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister said he expects a battle.

"It'll be a big challenge," Chronister said. "They're big inside and real physical. We'll have to play an exceptional game to beat them."