Royals sink Pirates

Friday- The Jay Lady Royals are now 4-0, with big wins including Paxton, Chipley and now, Ponce de Leon (3-2). Jay jumped out to an early lead over Ponce and led throughout. Kaylee Gilbreath led Jay in scoring with 18, connecting on two three pointers and going 9/10 at the free throw line. In fact, the Lady Royals had an incredible night as a team from the charity stripe for a combined total of 23/28 (82%). Hattie Locklin had another great night for Jay, scoring 15.

While Jay led 31-19 at the half, Ponce came on late in the third quarter and with three Royals in foul trouble, made a run, outscoring Jay 21-15 in the period. The Pirates hit three 3’s in the third, cutting the lead to just six going into the fourth.

“Need to do better defensively, but we closed out the game and I’m certainly proud of the effort,” head coach Jorey Diamond stated after the game.

Jay would end up going 7/10 at the free throw line in the fourth to help solidify the win. Gilbreath finished the night strong, scoring nearly half of the teams’ 14 points in the final quarter as the Lady Royals secured the win, 60-52.

With the win, Jay can turn their attention to rival Northview on Tuesday before they go back to Paxton next Friday and Saturday as they compete in the Cats Against Cancer Tournament.

JHS 19 12 15 14-60

PDL 13 6 21 12-52

(K. Gilbreath 18, H Locklin 15, A Adams 12, P Hawthorne 5, A Nelson 8, G Lewis 2)