SAPPINGTON – As her coach discussed strategical adjustments at halftime, Jackson senior Cameron Alsdorf knew another change she and her teammates had to make.
“We had to come out with more energy,” Alsdorf said. “We knew we wanted it. This was our game to win.”
Alsdorf keyed an explosive third quarter run that turned a halftime deficit into a 54-46 victory for Jackson over Francis Howell to win the championship of the Lindbergh Girls Basketball Invitational Thursday at Lindbergh High School.
Jackson (14-1), which had its streak of three consecutive Class 6 District 1 titles snapped by Cor Jesu last season, entered the Lindbergh Tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated Lindbergh, MICDS and Francis Howell to earn the title.
“It really means a lot to us,” Alsdorf said. “Sometimes, when you come from a small town, you feel underestimated. To come here and play these big teams, I’m proud that we were able to show people what we can do.”
Jackson sliced an eight-point deficit to 25-24 at halftime and emerged from the locker room with a heightened sense of purpose. After Francis Howell missed a short shot on a designed play to open the third quarter, Jackson freshman Lauren Dorey drained a three on the other end and allowed the Indians to unleash their full-court pressure.
First, Jackson forced Francis Howell to go too slow by taking more than 10 seconds to advance the ball past half court, then made the Vikings go too fast in forcing a pair of back court traveling violations.
“That was our gameplan,” Jackson coach Angela Fulton said. “All season long our pressure has been what we’re known for, and I thought we shied away from that at the beginning, so we went in (the locker room), made some adjustments, switched up rotations a little bit, and it worked out well.”
While Francis Howell was out of rhythm, it was smooth sailing for Alsdorf. She drained a right wing three to increase the lead to 30-25, Then she tap-danced into the lane and delivered an old-fashioned three-point play to complete a 9-0 run in the opening 90 seconds of the second half.
“The funny thing is we’ve been winning those first three minutes of the second half,” Francis Howell coach Scott Cleer said. “It came down to who was going to go on a little run, and they went on it first.”
Alsdorf, a senior, and freshman Kate Deck each scored 17 points and displayed an uncanny chemistry to find each other. In the backcourt, they combined to alleviate the intense pressure of the Vikings 2-2-1 press. In the half court, they found each other on give-and-go’s, skip passes and kick-out threes.
“Ever since we started playing over the summer, it’s just clicked for us,” Alsdorf said. “We have really high basketball IQ and that made us jive together.”
Francis Howell (15-3) played the game without second-leading scorer Danielle Moore, who was in Florida participating in a volleyball event. Her replacement, junior Riese Grier, scored a season-high 12 points with an assortment of slick post moves. Her floater in the lane sliced the deficit to 35-31 midway through the third quarter.
But every time the Vikings made a push, Jackson kept them at arm’s length.
The Jackson lead was 39-36 late in the third quarter when Dorey made her own slick post move to beat the buzzer. Freshman Addison Henderson scored on a lefty runner to open the fourth quarter and added a defensive rebound, a steal and an assist shortly after.
“We cut it back and cut it back, but give them credit, every time we got within three, they would hit a big shot,” Cleer said.
Despite playing the second half without leading scorer Veronica Simmons, who departed with an ankle injury, Francis Howell hung close. Two baskets by Rhianne Toebben and a deep three by Amaya Porchia put the Vikings within 49-44 with 3:51 remaining, but an excellent 17-for-22 night at the free throw line helped Jackson secure the championship.
“We just had to hold our composure when we were down, come out with more energy in the second half, and when we got the lead, we had to keep playing hard,” Deck said.
Francis Howell (15-3) also placed second at the Lindbergh Invitational last season and had a similar 14-3 record, but the Vikings lost six out of 10 after that to finish 18-9. Cleer does not envision a similar fate this year.
“The difference is that last year we were offensively challenged at times, but this year, with (Moore and Simmons), we’ve been able to add scoring, so our main scorers from last year can be secondary scorers. That’s been our success,” he said.
With strong perimeter and post play combined with relentless defensive pressure Jackson has the ingredients necessary for a deep postseason run – when the time comes.
“Stay 200 feet in front,” Deck said. “Focus on the next game, don’t look too far ahead.”
But the Indians’ secret ingredient may just be something immeasurable.
“The chemistry is high. On any given night, when someone steps up, they’re proud of each other and when someone has a bad night, they’re encouraging. It’s a really special team,” Fulton said.
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