GIRLS TAKE OVER SHOW ME CENTER; LADY TIGERS BEAT PERRYVILLE 43-39

Poise is not usually a defining characteristic of a young, inexperienced team.

But Cape Girardeau Central High's girls basketball team seems to be able to find composure at the end of games against quality opponents. That's why the Lady Tigers are 5-1 and in the semifinals of the HealthSouth Holiday Classic.

No. 4 Central controlled the fourth quarter and edged No. 5 Perryville 43-39 on Tuesday at the Show Me Center in a first-round game.

Central will play top-seeded Poplar Bluff at 8:30 tonight in the semifinals.

After eight lead changes and eight tie scores through three quarters, Perryville's Tiffany Perkins, who led the Lady Pirates with 10 points, scored inside a minute and a half into the fourth quarter to tie the game at 33-33.

Central then scored 10 of the next 12 points in a six-minute span and led 43-35 with under a minute remaining.

"We got out to the lead, and then (Perryville) was the one that had to press," said Central coach Paula Watkins. "And when we struggled offensively, we still forced them defensively at the end that if they got a shot off, it wasn't a good look at the basket.

"I'm proud of them. I have one starter back and everybody else is brand new. They could have easily fallen apart. Even though they do show some youth, they do maintain it enough to hold on to the win."

Until the last 30 seconds of the quarter, Perryville shot just 1 of 14 in the fourth period.

"It seemed like we didn't know what to run on offense," said first-year Perryville coach Vicki Lohmann. "I'm sure (Watkins) is proud of what they did defensively stopping us. Our girl inside (Renee Kaempfe) was kind of a no-show tonight. She usually has a pretty good game and she pretty much got shut down."

Central limited Kaempfe, a 6-foot senior, to six points.

An offensive rebound by Amy Harris, who led the Lady Tigers with 11 rebounds, and putback made the score 35-33. A basket inside by 5-11 freshman Katie Dougherty pushed the score to 37-33.

After Perryville cut the deficit to 37-35, Central's Dionna Webb grabbed an offensive rebound, scored the putback and was fouled. Webb, who led all scorers with 12 points, converted the three-point play with 3:56 left, giving the Lady Tigers a 40-35 advantage.

From there Central shot 10 free throws, making just three, but two offensive rebounds on misses helped to seal the game. Perryville scored twice in the last 30 seconds to cut the 43-35 game to the 43-39 final.