JEFFERSON — The Jefferson girls got virtually every shot they wanted Tuesday night against defending Class 3A state champion Johnson-Savannah in the two teams’ quarterfinal showdown at The Arena.
The ball just would not cooperate.
The Lady Dragons shot a dismal 11-for-54 for the game (20.3 percent) including hitting just 1-of-17 3-pointers (5.8 percent), as they set a season-low in a stunning 48-32 loss to the Atomsmashers.
“We couldn’t make a shot,” a disappointed Jefferson coach Greg Brown said afterward. “We got everything we wanted on offense, especially in the first half. We couldn’t throw it in the lake tonight.”
Jefferson’s previous season-low was 32 points in a blowout loss to Boyd County (Ky.) on Dec. 29 in the Pensacola Christmas Tournament.
The opening 90 seconds set an ominous tone for the Lady Dragons (25-4). They had six possessions in the first 90 seconds but missed four shots and had two turnovers, which Johnson-Savannah (20-8) turned into five points and hit 4 of their first 5 shots as part of a 9-0 run to start the game.
Jefferson rallied from that brutal start to get within 13-9 over the next four minutes. But Johnson-Savannah took a 16-9 lead into the second quarter and Jefferson’s ice-cold shooting only got worse.
The Lady Dragons were 0-for-11 from 3-point range and managed just four field goals (4-of-26, 15.3 percent) in the first half. Johnson-Savannah was not able to take ultimate advantage, however, missing 8-of-its-last-9 shots of the half as the Jefferson defense forced 9 turnovers. But the Lady Dragons missed their last 14 shots of the half while the Atomsmashers ran out to a 25-13 halftime lead.
Natalia Bolden opened the second half with a steal and layup for Jefferson to cut the lead to 25-15 and a Livi Blackstock fastbreak basket capped a 6-0 run to pull the Lady Dragons within 30-21 midway through the third quarter. Jefferson’s lone 3-pointer knocked down by Deshona Gaither, closed out the period with Jefferson trailing just 33-24.
Two baskets by the Atomsmashers’ Kyla Hankerson to open the fourth quarter pushed their lead to 37-24 and Jefferson never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
It wasn’t like Johnson-Savannah was burning up the nets. The Atomsmashers had 19 turnovers, were just 2-of-9 on 3-pointers, and had just 19 total field goals for the game. The 48 points were their second-lowest output of the season.
“Defensively I thought we played well,” Brown said. “To hold that group under 50 is an excellent job. But it was just one of those nights shooting.
"We’re very disappointed. Our expectations always are to win. We just didn’t have it tonight.”
Gaither finished with 14 points to lead Jefferson. Bolden and Blackstock each had 9 points for the Lady Dragons.
J’Mya Cutter had 19 points to lead Johnson-Savannah.
