Despite dropping a game last week to Walnut Grove, the Lady Dragons of Jefferson bounced back to defeat Oglethorpe and East Jackson to lock themselves into third place in the sub-region with the final regular season game set to be played this week.
That game is slated for Friday, as the Lady Dragons travel to North Oconee to face the Lady Titans.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
By locking themselves into third place in the sub-region, the Lady Dragons have assured themselves of not having to play in a play-in game when region tournament play gets underway next week.
Walnut Grove
The Lady Dragons traveled to Walnut Grove last Tuesday fresh off a pair of wins against Commerce and Banks County, and were looking to add another victory to their region tally.
Things got off to a slow start for Jefferson, as the Lady Warriors outscored the Lady Dragons early on to take a 17-13 lead by the end of the first quarter. Jefferson managed to close the lead down to just two points in the second quarter, as Walnut Grove carried a 29-27 advantage into halftime.
Walnut Grove came back out in the third quarter and worked to open up a larger advantage over the Lady Dragons. They outscored Jefferson 11-6, giving them a 40-33 lead at the end of the third. The
Lady Dragons mounted a charge in the fourth, closing at one point back down to two points. But the Lady Warriors were able to move out again down the stretch, opening up a seven-point lead and coming away with a 50-43 victory.
Erin Knight led in scoring on the night with 12 points. Bethany Whitlock scored seven.
Oglethorpe Co.
Up next was senior night at Jefferson, where the Lady Dragons played host to the Lady Patriots of Oglethorpe County.
Jefferson set the tone for the night early on, as they outscored Oglethorpe in the first quarter to take a 10-3 lead. The Lady Dragons took full control of the court over the next eight minutes, holding the Lady Patriots to only two points while they added 26 to their total to carry a 36-5 lead into the half.
It was a similar story in the second half. Jefferson scored 15 points while allowing the Lady Patriots only five to build up a 51-10 lead by the end of the third quarter. The Lady Dragons put the game away in the fourth, scoring seven points while Oglethorpe scored eight to take a 58-18 victory.
Erin Knight led in scoring with 18 points. Bethany Whitlock scored 10. Stephanie Fincher scored 9.
Of the 15 players that dressed out, 13 scored during the night.
“It was a big game for us in terms of sub-region,” Gibson said. “We needed to get the sub-region win and put ourselves in a position where playing East Jackson on Saturday would allow us to clinch third place … and keep us out of a play-in game.”
East Jackson
With a chance to clinch third in the sub-region, the Lady Dragons traveled to East Jackson to face the Lady Eagles for the second time this season.
Just as they did the night before, the Lady Dragons took control early, moving out to a slim 12-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. East Jackson was determined to stay within shouting distance, and outscored Jefferson in the second quarter 8-5 to move to within four points, 17-13, by halftime.
The Lady Dragons managed to just outscore East Jackson in the third quarter, 7-6, as Jefferson held a five-point advantage at the end of the quarter, 24-19. The Lady Dragons found some more traction in the fourth quarter, holding the Lady Eagles to just five points while they added 14 to their tally to move away with a 38-24 victory.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald.
