Final Four Bound!
The Jay Lady Royals (24-4) are headed to Jacksonville to play in the semi-finals of the FHSAA playoffs for the first time in nearly 30 years! And after the win tonight over Chipley, they earned it. From the jump, the Lady Royals knew they were in for a very physical contest against the Tigers (17-4). This was the third time the two schools have played each other this season and the second time Jay came out on top.
Jay had to dig deep in a fast paced, sparsely called contest that saw seven different Royals score on the night, two in double digits. Aubreigh Nelson led the way for Jay with 16 while Georgia Lewis, who may have had one of her best games of her career, added 14.
Jay started off slow offensively, scoring only 7 in the first quarter to Chipley’s 11. But things heated up in the second quarter, thanks to a team effort where four different Royals scored, many off turnovers caused by a stingy defense.
Jay took a 22-19 lead into halftime.
“We just needed to settle down,” head coach Jorey Diamond stated. “Once we did that, we played better.”
Chipley came out in the second half and hit two three’s in the third quarter, scoring 10 and outscoring Jay in the period.
Three three pointers by Chipley’s Hogan in the fourth saw Jay’s lead dwindle to nothing as the score was tied 40-40 with a little over two minutes in the game.
With the game tied after two quick three’s, head coach Jorey Diamond called a timeout to settle his group down. That timeout seemed to do the trick as the Lady Royals came out firing on all cylinders, offensively and defensively. Jay would score the next seven points, unanswered. The biggest of which was Jay’s only three pointer of the night by Georgia Lewis. Chipley would only score four more points in the final two minutes as Jay got the win, 51-44.
“So proud of their effort. So proud of this team.”
With the win, Jay will play on Tuesday in the semi-finals in Jacksonville. Check back for more details.
JHS 7 15 9 20-51
CHS 11 8 10 15-44
(A Nelson 16, G Lewis 14, H Locklin 8, P Hawthorne 4, E Vaughn 4, L Locklin 2, K Gilbreath 3)
