By Jay Neal
sports@jacksonvilleprogress.com
TYLER — Area basketball connoisseurs will surely want to make the short trek to Tyler for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff this afternoon between the Jacksonville Fightin’ Maidens and the No. 12-ranked (Class 3A) Bullard Lady Panthers.
The contest rates as the only girl’s game in the two-day Burger King Classic.
Jacksonville enters the skirmish coming off a 34-32 home loss to Woden (Class 2A) Monday night at the JHS gymnasium and is 2-3 overall, with wins over Diboll and Lufkin Hudson.
Thus far, the Maidens, coached by Jason Crow, have struggled to find anyone other than super-sophomore post, Amber Hawkins, that can sink the ball in the cup with regularity.
Strong defensive play, a trademark of Crow-coached teams, is the mantra again this season for the Maidens, who finished as the District 14-4A champions by going 10-0 in loop play last year.
Jacksonville is a very young team this year with Hawkins being just a sophomore and freshmen Chancii Scott and Sametria Baker getting a lot of minutes as well.
Of the fourth-year players for the Maidens, Tanica Lucas-Clay’s role so far has been to drain the three-ball when needed and to clean up underneath which she has proven capable of doing. Lucas-Clay had five rebounds against Woden.
Other seniors who should see plenty of action for Jacksonville are Brittany King, Lydia Boyd and Jessica Hunter.
Head coach Greg Gay’s Lady Panthers, ranked No. 12 in the current Class 3A poll, started the season off by recording a thrilling come-from-behind win over Tyler Lee in the Lady Raiders’ gym, but could not sustain that momentum in their next game, losing 45-40 in overtime at Lindale.
In their most recent game, Bullard, who led by double digits early in the third stanza, had to withstand a late Hallsville rally to pull off the eventual 52-49 win which took place on the road.
Sophomore-sensation, Minta Spears, propelled the Lady Panther attack by scoring 27 points, including sinking five shots from beyond the arc.
Kayla Welling has played well down low, scoring 14 points against Lindale, while Ashley Ricci and Ally Covalt continue to provide steady play from the perimeter.
Following today’s game, Jacksonville will return home to play Corsicana at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday while the Lady Panthers will see their first home action of the year against Diboll Tuesday. Tipoff for that affair is also slated for 7:30 p.m.
“We know we will have our hands full with Bullard,” Jacksonville head coach Jason Crow said. “They always play us tough and they are hard to beat.”
Projected Starting Lineups
Jacksonville (2-3)
# Name Pos.
00 Amber Hawkins P
3 Tanica Lucas-Clay G
15 Lydia Boyd F
25 Brittany King F
10 Sametria Baker G
Bullard (2-1)
# Name Pos.
11 Ashley Ricci F
12 Heather Camp G
15 Ally Covalt G
23 Minta Spears G
32 Christina Hatten F
