JEFFERSON — Despite the solid record, it has been a roller coaster of a ride of late for the Class AAAA 10th-ranked Jefferson girls basketball team.
And it continued Friday night in a key Region 8-AAAA showdown with No. 7 Madison County at The Arena.
The Lady Dragons shot just 32 percent (14-of-43) from the field and could not contain the Lady Red Raiders’ Jordan Bailey, who had 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks in Madison County's 54-38 victory.
Jefferson (13-6, 2-3 in Region 8-AAAA) came in having won four of its last five games overall. And the Lady Dragons started off hot hitting two of their first three shots and running out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes on a 3-pointer from McKenzie Tyner and a basket and two free throws from Mariah Starks. But they followed that with a 2-for-11 spurt while the Lady Red Raiders (15-5, 6-0) used a 17-4 run to take control.
Lady Dragons coach Jason Gibson said the rough shooting night was a microcosm of their struggles of late.
“The last couple weeks have been just like that first quarter,” he said. “We came out and hit some shots and then we couldn’t get anything to fall. You can’t have stretches like that against a team as good as Madison County.”
The Lady Red Raiders’ big run gave them a 17-11 lead early in the second quarter. A nearly 2-to-1 rebounding margin with four stickback baskets and an aggressive full court press that forced half a dozen Jefferson turnovers that were converted into several fastbreak opportunities helped Madison County extend the lead to 26-16 midway through the period.
Jefferson did pull within 26-19 by halftime on a Livi Blackstock basket and a Starks free throw. But the struggles from the field continued in the third quarter as Madison County hit 6-of-7 shots while Jefferson missed its first five giving the Lady Red Raiders a 42-24 lead.
In the fourth quarter Jefferson finally found some range going 6-of-7 at one point and trimming the lead to 47-36 with 57 seconds left on a Tyner basket. But Madison County hit 6-of-7 free throws in the final 50 seconds to seal the win.
The Lady Raiders, who pushed their win streak to seven games, maintained their hold on first place while Jefferson remained tied for third with Stephens County (9-10, 2-3) which lost 63-44 to St. Pius (12-7, 5-1) on Friday.
With the top two teams getting automatic bids to the state tournament, Gibson said there is still time to climb in the standings. But finding a consistent offense is key, he said.
“There is still plenty of games left for us to try and get in that second slot,” he said. “But we have to play a little more consistent. You go through stretches like this and you just have to shoot your way out of them sometimes.”
Tyner finished with 11 points and Starks had 8 points for Jefferson. But leading scorer Jazmin Allen was held to just four points for the Lady Dragons.
A’Dryana Maxwell had 12 points and Kayla McPherson 10 points for Madison County.
JEFFERSON BOYS 63,
MADISON COUNTY 42
The game was tied just once, at 2, and the Dragons never trailed in improving to 13-7 overall, 4-1 in Region 8-AAAA with the victory. They have now won 6 of their last 7 games and maintained a slim one-half game lead over Oconee County (15-4, 4-2) for second place.
A Daniel Parker 3-pointer capped a 7-0 run to break the early tie and Jefferson never trailed again. A Kam Robinson fastbreak layup gave the Dragons a 24-14 lead late in the second quarter and they took a 24-18 advantage into the intermission.
The Dragons stormed out of the halftime using a 23-5 third quarter, highlighted by one Jasper Gibson 3-pointer and consecutive treys from Donsha Gaither, to pull away for a 45-21 lead.
Madison County (8-12, 1-5) which saw its modest two-game win streak snapped, chipped into the lead in the fourth quarter as both teams emptied their benches. But the Red Raiders never got as close as the final score.
Gibson led Jefferson with 14 points. Jacob Radaker added 11 points and Gaither had 10 for the Dragons.
