OAKWOOD — The West Hall girls and boys swept Johnson on Saturday in the play-in games for the upcoming Lanierland Tournament later this month.
The Lady Spartans opened with a stunning 36-28 win over the Lady Knights while the West Hall boys rolled to a 72-37 win in the second game.
For the West Hall girls, the win put them back in the tournament for the first time since 2020. It was the second win of the season for the Lady Spartans (2-5) after going winless last season.
Summer Orlick led West Hall with 11 points and Yatsar Matos had 10 points.
The Lady Spartans led 8-5 after the first quarter and took a 15-11 lead into halftime. Johnson (0-3) trimmed the lead to 23-20 heading into the fourth quarter but West Hall pulled away down the stretch.
New coach Jacob Selman said they are working hard to rebuild the program. Getting back into the tournament field was a high priority.
“This was definitely a goal for these girls,” Selman said. “We’ve been pushing them to play hard and hustle and they are just working so hard to get better. They’re super-excited to have won this one.”
Johnson was led by Destiny Ramirez, who poured in a career-high 18 points. But she fouled out in the fourth quarter, as did leading-scorer Alana Young, who was held scoreless on the night. No other Johnson player had more than 2 points.
In the boys game, the Spartans opened with a 22-12 first quarter run and never looked back in advancing to the eight-team Lanierland Tournament field later this month.
West Hall (3-2) blew it open, outscoring the Knights 16-5 in the second quarter for a 38-17 halftime lead. The Spartans took a 54-29 lead into the final period.
Owen Jenkins continued his hot start to the season pouring in 27 points. Isaiah Holder added 12 points and Andrew Malin and Quintavous Reid each added 9 points for West Hall. Xavier Felix had 8 points and 8 assists for the Spartans.
Monty Young paced Johnson (0-3) with 10 points. Jaiden Riley had 8 points and Max Durham 6 points for the Knights.
