Dorey and Deck light up Poplar Bluff for combined 37, Jackson GBB rolls to 64-29 win

JACKSON —  Lauren Dorey and Kate Deck went into attack mode on one possession after another in front of their home crowd on Thursday night.

That spelled trouble for an overmatched Poplar Bluff team.

The potent freshman duo combined for 37 points and received plenty of help as Jackson throttled the Lady Mules 64-29 at Jackson High School.

The Lady Indians (16-1) won their season-best eighth straight game with Dorey dropping a game-high 20 points and Deck adding 17. Lilly Watkins chipped in with eight points, while senior Addison Criddle added seven.

“I think it goes back to our chemistry in the locker room,” Dorey said. “Coach preaches every day that you’ve got to get that chemistry down. It doesn't matter how many points you score, it's how many assists you have and how you cheer for your teammates. There's all of those little things that matter that really make us come together, and we're not worried about each and every individual. It's all that unit that we put together.”

Dorey and Deck, who began playing basketball together in seventh grade, are continuing to blossom into one of the area’s top girls basketball duos just 17 games into their high school careers. The tandem once again took full advantage of their opportunity to make an impact, shooting a combined 9-of-12 from the foul line and 13-of-19 from the floor on Thursday.

“It was an instant click between us,” Deck said. “I could just find her in the post, or you could kick it out to me and I could shoot. It was just score however we wanted to.”

The SEMO Conference leaders took control early in the first half and rolled to their seventh straight win over Poplar Bluff (11-9) behind an utterly dominant performance both in the paint and on the defensive end.

Capped by a Deck 3-pointer, the Lady Indians raced out to an 18-11 lead by the end of the first quarter and stayed in command the rest of the way. As the closing seconds winded down, Criddle put the exclamation point on a 36-19 halftime advantage with a mid-range jumper at the buzzer.

Jackson brought the same type of energy in the ensuing half, dominating the boards to lead by much as 36 with two minutes left in regulation.

“I don't make those shots if I don't get great passes from my teammates or if Kate doesn't steal the ball,” Dorey said of her performance. “Everyone kind of has to do their part in those little things that help. It's not just about how many points we score. It's all those little things that come together and help us get that good team win tonight.”

Deck agreed with her teammate.

“Our defense contributed to our offense tonight,” she said. “We worked really hard on defense, got a lot of steals and got the ball up the court.”

Ireland Gowen led Poplar Bluff with 10 points, while junior Adalynn Ordway added nine.

“Lauren and Kate were awesome, but they don't get those points without the assists and without their teammates,” head coach Angela Fulton said. “Celebrate that, but at the end of the day, they couldn't have done it without their teammates feeding them the ball.

“It is just unbelievable how much these girls have risen up and became one. They celebrate each other every night. There's no jealousy. I mean, it’s just awesome and exciting to see them.”

Jackson will aim to keep the momentum going when the Lady Indians host Principia (17-3) on Monday evening at 4:30 p.m. Poplar Bluff’s road slate continues on Monday when the Lady Mules take on Campbell (7-12) at 7:30 p.m.