LADY INDIANS CRUISE TO FINAL FOUR; JACKSON POUNCES ON ST. JOSPEH'S 49-26

ST. LOUIS -- Jackson High's girls basketball team is a confident bunch, so the Lady Indians probably expected to reach the Class 4A Final Four for the third year in a row.

But not even the Lady Indians -- and especially coach Ron Cook -- could have envisioned what took place here Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Indians totally dominated St. Joseph's Academy as they cruised to a 49-26 Class 4A quarterfinal victory at the University of Missouri-St. Louis' Mark Twain Center.

Jackson, the state runnerup last season, will carry a 26-2 record into Friday's 12:20 p.m. Class 4A semifinal in Columbia.

Earlier this season, Jackson and St. Joseph's hooked up in a thrilling game in St. Louis, with the Angels prevailing 52-49 in triple overtime.

So, naturally, Cook and his team expected another down-to-the-wire battle. But it never happened.

"I'm definitely surprised," said a grinning Cook after the game. "We expected a game like last time. We sure didn't expect something like this."

Junior point guard Christa Millham, who had a big all-around game with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, said the Lady Indians were intent to take control from the very start, which they did.

"We wanted to jump on them right away," she said. "We didn't want to look intimidated. We wanted to be intimidating."

Last year, in the state quarterfinals, Jackson built up a big lead against St. Joseph's but had to fight off a late rally by the Angels. Millham said the Lady Indians remembered that one.

"We didn't want that to happen this time," she said.

Mindy Myers led the Lady Indians offensively with 14 points as she joined Millham in double figures.

St. Joseph's, which finished the season with a 20-8 record, was paced by Trish Flanagan with eight points.

The Lady Indians showed the Angels that they would be in for a long day from the very beginning by pitching a shutout in the first quarter.

That's right -- St. Joseph's did not register even a single point over the opening eight minutes as Jackson built a 10-0 lead.

Shannon Perry scored the game's first basket and the Lady Indians were off and running. Myers scored three points on free throws in the quarter and Dana Eakins nailed a 3-point shot with seven seconds left to make it 10-0.

"St. Joseph's just didn't hit their outside shots, especially early in the game, but we did a real good job defensively all game," Cook said. "We especially played real good defense in the first half. We were really aggressive."

Said Eakins, "From the last game we played against them, we knew we had to step it up and play good defense. It was good we played them already because we knew what to expect."

Things didn't get much better for the Angels in the second quarter. They did finally get on the scoreboard when Sarah Landy hit a 15-footer just 11 seconds into the period.

But Jackson came back with five quick points, another 3-pointer by Eakins putting the Lady Indians ahead 15-2. When Millham hit two free throws with 3:06 remaining in the half, Jackson had a 22-2 lead.

The Lady Indians carried a bulging 26-6 advantage into the locker room at halftime as sophomore reserve Melissa Palmer made two free throws with seven seconds left.

St. Joseph's was a woeful three-for-20 from the field (15 percent) in the opening two quarters.

Jackson never let the Angels back in the game in the second half as the closest St. Joseph's could get was 15 points.

The Lady Indians led 34-17 after three quarters and cruised home in the final period as their several hundred fans who made the two-hour trip from Jackson roared with approval.

"We figured it would be really close like the last time," said Eakins. "We didn't expect to beat them this bad."

A big key for Jackson was its work on the boards against St. Joseph's much taller squad. The Angels featured three players 6-feet or taller but the Lady Indians owned a 36-26 rebounding edge.

In addition to Millham's 10 rebounds, Michele Millham grabbed seven while Myers and Perry both added five.

"They've got a big, strong team and they try to wear you down," said Cook. "We held up well and we really did a good job on the boards."

Even though the final score reflected a blowout, Christa Millham said the Lady Indians tried to never look at the game that way.

"We had to work hard at all times, so it felt like a closer game than it was," she said.

And now the Lady Indians are headed to their third consecutive Class 4A Final Four. They were third two years ago and second last season, so the natural procession this year would mean a state championship, right?

Cook smiled at that prospect, but didn't want to get too far ahead of things.

"The girls should be really proud of getting there (the Final Four) again," he said. "It takes a lot of effort from a lot of people."