After the JV teams completing a sweep , it was time for the varsity to have their turn at the gauntlet. The Lady Leopards did not disappoint and took a 61-38 victory over the Lady Eagles. The Lady Leopards have an over record of 2-1-0.
"We had a huge first quarter but East Jackson kept the other quarters close,” head coach Jerry King said. “We are young and will need to overcome inconsistency."
The Lady Leopards scored 21 points to the Eagles five in the first quarter of the game.
Six Lady Leopards contributed to the 21 points, Taylor Kennedy made close to half with 10 points, Lauren carter scored three points. Haley Warner, Kaitlyn Duncan, Savannah Blalock and Casey Turner scored two points each in the period.
BCHS stayed ahead in the second quarter 15-11 and led at the half 36-16 over the Lady Eagles. Kaitlyn Duncan scored six points, Abby Parks five points, Taylor Kennedy and Paige Mathis scored two points each to end the half.
One point separated the third quarter scoring 11-10 with the Lady Leopards still on top. Kaitlyn Duncan scored six points, Taylor Kennedy four points and McKenna Rylee scored one of two from the free throw line.
The Lady Leopards upped the score by two points 14-12 and won the game by 23 points overall. Kaitlyn Duncan had another big quarter scoring two baskets and five of six on the foul line. Taylor Kennedy added three points to the board. Abby Parks scored a basket for two.
Kaitlyn Duncan scored a total of 23 points, with 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Taylor Kennedy scored a total of 19 points with 5 steals.
"We did a better job of going inside 53 percent of our shots came inside the paint,” King said. “We still are having to focus on getting it inside to much. We missed several chance to feed the post but did not see it. We are going to work on it in practice until it becomes more natural."
The Lady Leopards dropped a non region game Saturday afternoon to 6-A Habersham Central 56-62.
"We were physically fatigued and made some mental mistakes on offense and defense,” King said. “Habersham beat us on the boards and got to many second chance shots. However, we did a good job at the end executing the foul game to give ourselves a chance to get back in the game. We were down 19 at one point in the fourth and cut it down to nine with almost a minute to go. We just should not have put ourselves in that position."
HCHS had a three point lead at the end of the first quarter. McKenna Rylee sank a three point shot, Kaitlyn Duncan, Taylor Kennedy and Casey Turner scored two points each in the period.
The Raiders added three more to the lead in the second period and led at the half 25-19 over the Lady Leopards. Casey turner hit a three pointer, Savannah Blalock put in a basket for two, Kaitlyn Duncan and Taylor Kennedy added two each from the free throw line and Paige Mathis went one of two at the free throw line.
The Lady Leopards started to see it slip away in the third quarter as HCHS added eight more to the lead as the period ended 29-43. Casey Turner put most of the points on the board in the third period. A three point shot and three of four from the foul line. Taylor Kennedy and Kaitlyn Duncan contributed two points each in the effort.
The Lady Leopards put great effort onto the fourth quarter and scored 27 points and held the Raiders to 19. It was a flurry of three pointers from several players that made the difference. Lauren Carter and Kaitlyn Duncan sank two each while McKenna Rylee and Casey Turner got a turn at one each. Turner added two shots from the foul line, Taylor Kennedy added six points from the floor. Savannah Blalock hit one of four from the free throw line.
The varsity Leopards will be in action on December 7 at Dawson County. Games start at 7 p.m. Against Commerce at home on December 8 starting at 4 p.m .and December 11th at home against North Hall at 6 p.m.
