Kayla Freeman picked the right night to have her biggest offensive game of the young season.
Madison County’s junior standout tallied 21 points Tuesday as the no. 10 Lady Raiders (2-1) walloped no. 4 Jonesboro 58-32 in Danielsville to go 2-0 in their own tip-off tournament.
Madison County gets to face another highly regarded foe Tuesday when it hosts Salem at 6 p.m. The Lady Seminoles went 23-3 last year and didn’t lose a region game until being upset in the 8-AAAA tournament.
Coming off a lackluster victory over Newton County, Madison County only trailed twice briefly Tuesday night – both in the first half – in an otherwise dominating effort.
Led by Freeman’s 14 points second-half points, the Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Cardinals 35-17 over the final two quarters to claim an easy win over a team that went 30-2 last year and reached the Class AAAA Final Four. Jonesboro (2-1) is 118-24 over the last five seasons.
Madison County got a boost from its backcourt with Sam LaZear adding 11 points and Molly Glaze scoring seven, including two three-pointers.
Glaze’s three-pointer at the 4:01 in the first quarter was the Lady Raiders’ first of the season. Her second, which came with 1:45 left in the first half, opened up a 21-13 lead for Madison County.
The Lady Raiders, who led 23-15 at the half, built a 35-24 edge after three quarters and ended with an 18-4 run in the fourth quarter to turn the game into a rout.
Freeman, who’s averaging 17.3 points per game, scored nine of her 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Madison County started its season slowly with a 39-35 loss to Class A’s no. 5 squad, Southwest Atlanta Christian, on Friday night.
Freeman was the only Lady Raider to reach double figures, scoring 14 as Madison County suffered a rare early-season defeat. The Lady Raiders went scoreless from behind the arc in the loss to Southwest Atlanta Christian and went 0-for-15 from the three-point line the next night against Newton County, but still managed to win 42-40.
Freeman led Madison County with 17 points in that victory.
Southwest Atlanta Christian 39, MCHS 35
SACA 10 10 5 14 — 39
MCHS 9 10 6 10 — 35
Scorers: Freeman 14, Arnold 7, Smith 5, Chapell 4, Whieldon 2, Glaze 2, LaZear 1
Madison Co. 42, Newton 40
NCHS 10 8 4 18 — 40
MCHS 8 11 10 13 — 42
Scorers: Freeman 17, Arnold 9, Smith 7, Whieldon 6, Chappell 2, Glaze 1
Madison Co. 58, Jonesboro 32
JHS 8 7 9 8 – 32
MCHS 9 14 12 23 – 58
Scorers: Freeman 21, LaZear 11, Glaze 7, Arnold 5, Smith 5, Fleming 4, Coberly 2, Moon 2, Whieldon 1
