JEFFERSON got past rival Commerce 58-38 Saturday for its fourth win in five games.
The Lady Dragons — who haven’t lost to Commerce in years – beat the Lady Tigers 56-13 earlier this year but this game wasn’t quite as easy for Jefferson.
“I thought Commerce played really well,” Jefferson coach Jason Gibson said. “I thought they were a much-improved team. I thought we were flat.”
The Lady Dragons clung to a 13-9 edge after a quarter and 26-19 advantage at the half before building a double-digit lead in the second half. Jefferson pulled away in the fourth quarter with some inspired defense.
And Gibson made sure the team was inspired after calling a time out with six minutes left in the game.
“I told them however many more points they score is how many suicides you’ll have to run in practice,” Gibson said.
Commerce scored just five points after that.
Skylar Evanson led the Lady Dragons with 14 points. Dralynn Vaughn added a career-high 11.
Jefferson was coming off a 68-33 thumping of Oglethorpe County the night before on the road at Independence Hall.
Tristan McGarity scored 13 points to lead Jefferson, which earned its first subregion win of the year.
“It was nice get a win under our belt,” Gibson said. “It was nice to come out and shoot the ball well.”
Both Evanson and Brianna Whatley added 12 points each. Eleven different Lady Dragons got into the scorebook. Jefferson took over after a pedestrian first quarter and led 41-17 at the half.
“As the game progressed, we did a much better job defensively,” Gibson said. “Especially in the second quarter. I think we allowed three points in the second quarter.”
The Lady Dragon’s lead swelled to 38 points at the end of three quarters as Jefferson was able to empty its bench.
“I was really proud of the younger kids in the second half that played,” Gibson said. “They did a good job of continuing to push the lead out.”
