Lady Royals win thriller
Wednesday-Well, a win is a win and the Lady Royals were happy to have it…but boy was it close. Jay defeated Freeport 61-57 in overtime to advance to the district championship on Friday. Jay had previously defeated Freeport twice this season and it was assumed that the Lady Royals would be able to coast to the championship game. The only problem was no one told Freeport that as the tough, senior laden Bulldogs gave Jay all they could handle from the beginning.
The Lady Royals held a slim 24-23 lead at the half. The third quarter ended with Jay going on a run to extend their lead to eight at one point.
At the start of the fourth, Jay had a seven point lead but the Bulldogs closed the gap as the fourth quarter went on. Down by three with less than thirty seconds to play, Freeport got a a defensive rebound and connected on a three to tie the game. Jay was unable to connect and the game went into overtime.
Jay raced out to a quick four point lead and never trailed in the overtime period.
Carleigh Baker led the Lady Royals with 15 points on the night. Aubreigh Nelson added 14.
The Lady Royals didn’t help themselves at the free throw line, going 10/27 on the night.
Jay will now host Central, who defeated Paxton in the semi finals, on Friday night for the district championship. Tipoff is at 7pm. Should be a fun night. Get there early.
JHS 14 10 14 11 12-61
FHS 11 12 8 18 8-57
(A. Nelson 14, C. Baker 15, C. Gilbreath 6, G. Lewis 2, H. Locklin 8, M.Grimes 5, P. Hawthorne 11)
