By BRIAN ROSENER ~ DAR Sports Editor

JACKSON -- Aereill Davis needed help getting to the locker room following the MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 championship game.

Davis' teammates were there for her after Poplar Bluff's leading scorer injured her ankle in the first quarter Friday night. The Lady Mules held off Jackson 48-40 then gave the senior a piggy-back ride off the court.

"She's a senior, we didn't want to let her down," junior Natalie Stonecipher said.

A pair of underclassmen -- freshman Allie Pattillo and sophomore Ruthie Johnson -- each scored seven points off the bench and junior Jasmin Sumrall led Poplar Bluff with 17 points, including a key 3-pointer late, as the Lady Mules won their first district title since 2005.

Poplar Bluff (22-5) will next face Nerinx Hall (23-4), which rallied past Webster Groves 67-57 in the District 2 final Friday night. The sectional playoff will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Farmington Civic Center.

"It feels kind of surreal right now. We did what we were supposed to do," said senior Stefanie Ferguson, before letting out a big sigh of relief.

Jackson (13-11) cut a 12-point deficit in the second half down to one with 5:42 left, scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter.

Sumrall, who hit just five 3-pointers all season before Friday, banked home her second of the night 40 seconds later. Her shot from the right wing hit high off the glass and in for a 41-37 Poplar Bluff lead.

"That killed us," Jackson coach Sam Sides said. "We got right back in it and had momentum going our way. … That broke our back."

Jackson didn't score again until the final minute but the Lady Mules turned the ball over twice and went nearly three minutes without scoring themselves.

Tori Williams, who had nine rebounds, got a putback and Stonecipher hit two free throws to push the lead to 45-37 before Jackson's Kelci Keith hit a 3-pointer. Sumrall sealed the win by hitting 3-of-4 free throws in the final 24 seconds.

"I was getting the shakes that's probably why I turned it over," said Ferguson, who scored six points. "We just did what we had to do to pull it out, just like we usually do."

The last time the two teams met, the Lady Mules let an eight-point, fourth-quarter lead slip away.

"We were determined that that was not going to happen again," Sumrall said.

Just like the previous meeting, Poplar Bluff led by nine at halftime but this time, Pattillo opened the second half with a 3-pointer for a 34-22 lead.

Pattillo, a 5-foot-4 freshman guard, scored seven points playing for Davis, who injured her ankle midway through the first quarter.

"Allie stepped in and did an exceptional job," Lady Mules coach Kirk Chronister said. "We felt like she was a player that would most be able to replace her at that situation."

Davis, who led the team in points and steals during the regular season, was injured chasing down a rebound when another player rolled over her leg. Davis later returned in the first quarter but quickly went back to the bench and watched the rest of the game, finishing with two points.

Johnson, a sophomore guard, scored all seven of her points in the first half, finishing the first quarter in a flurry for a 17-10 lead. She got a steal leading to two free throws followed by two more after winning a race to the other end off a defensive rebound.

Poplar Bluff's bench outscored their opponent counterparts 26-0 during the two district games.

"We've been fortunate all year we've had people come off the bench and stepping in and contributing," Chronister said.

Ferguson's pull-up jumper at the free-throw line gave the Lady Mules a 23-12 lead with 4:52 left in the half. Johnson's 3 later put Poplar Bluff up 12 while Pattillo's fastbreak layin again made it a 12-point game with 83 seconds left.

Jackson pulled within 31-22 at halftime before putting together a 15-4 rally to pull within a single point.

"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot there a few times and I felt like we were letting them stay close," Chronister said. "I'm just real pleased with the effort our kids gave. They kept battling."