By Don Wallace
sports@jacksonvilleprogress.com
The Jacksonville defense sparked a 41-24 District 12-4A girls basketball win over Henderson Friday night.
The win allowed Jacksonville to snap a four-game losing streak in district play.
Jacksonville controlled the second half, outscoring the Lady Lions 15-3 in the final two stanzas.
The Maidens had balanced scoring with nine putting in points, 10 coming off the bench for Jacksonville.
Jacksonville held a slim 26-21 halftime lead. The third quarter was an exercise in frustration for the Lady Lions as they were held scoreless for the entire period.
Sharae Sanders opened the third period with a bucket in the paint following an offensive rebound. The next several minutes were dominated by Jacksonville’s defense. Several times the Lady Lions could not make it up the court. Henderson was called for traveling, then a five-second violation and Jacksonville was feeding on their defensive pressure.
Kiki Burrell turned a steal into a bucket at the 5:07 mark, forcing Henderson to take a timeout, trailing 30-21
Jacksonville’s full court pressure continued to allow the quick Maidens to pick the pockets of Henderson plays. The defense forced another traveling call and Jacksonville got back-to-back steals. Alayna Chavira came off the bench and popped the net for a 3-pointer and the Maidens were up 33-21.
Jacksonville ruled both end of the hardwood floor, forcing turnovers and getting putbacks in the paint by Jessica Hunter and Sanders. The third period closed with Jacksonville up 37-21 following the 11-0 scoring run.
Henderson still could not score in the first four minutes of the final period. Jacksonville was up 39-21 before 6-foot post Tabitha Dansby made one of two free throws to snap the scoring drought.
The Maidens got rolling on offense with Hunter dishing a perfect pass to a cutting Sanders for a bucket to make the final 41-24.
In the early going, the game was more of a scoring fest and defense took a back seat. Burrell, Brittany King, Victoria Abu and Sanders all scored early as Jacksonville took a 13-8 as the first period ended.
In the second period Henderson found holes in the Jacksonville defense and got point blank shots from Lindsey Osteen and Ashley Horton to cut the lead to 17-12. Burrell popped in a 3-pointer and King scored to keep Jacksonville ahead.
“Our team did a great job of putting pressure on the ball. We also rotated better on defense in the second half to cut off the easy shots we allowed in the first half. It was good to get back on the winning side of things,” said Jacksonville Maidens head basketball coach Tony Harris.
“Hats off to our kids, we were able to recognize the change in defenses by Henderson. We got people in the right position to score and make some plays. We were able to handle their defensive pressure with ease.”
Jacksonville is 4-5 in district play, 7-12 overall. Henderson falls to 3-19, 1-8.
Jacksonville will play at Marshall Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. In the first meeting between the two schools on Dec. 18, in Jacksonville the Maidens lost a heartbreaker by a 42-40 final.
Score by quarters
Jacksonville 13-13-11-4-41
Henderson 8-13-0-3-24
Jacksonville scorers-Christina Martinez, 1; Kiki Burrell, 11; Alayna Chavira, 3; Vanity Darty, 4; Jessica Hunter, 2; Sharae Sanders, 10; Amber Whitmill, 2; Brittany King, 4 and Victoria Abu, 2. 3-pointers-Burrell, Chavira.
Junior varsity score- Jacksonville 41, Henderson 28. Jacksonville scorers- Erika Blakemore, 4; Jasmin Clark, 17; K’Latreice Cook, 7; Tanita Lucas-Clay 9 and Lydia Boyd, 2.
The Jacksonville ninth grade team did not play, their season has concluded.
The Jacksonville assistant coaches are Toy Buckley and Jody Steele.
