The Lady Dragons of Jefferson were hoping to start their weekend off by stopping a two-game losing streak on Saturday.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way, as Jefferson lost to Sevier County, Tenn. in the opening game of the Warrior Holiday Classic at Oconee County, falling 60-37.
“They shot the ball pretty well and jumped on us pretty early,” said coach Jason Gibson. “I think you could tell that we were rusty from the layover. They shot the ball really well, and we didn’t, and they ended up beating us.”
The loss meant Jefferson could hope for no better than fifth place in the tournament.
Gibson said it was a rusty game.
“We played hard at times, but not with the kind of intensity that you need against good teams to be successful,” he said. “When you play teams that are disciplined and manage to do the little things right, it hurts when you don’t do those same things right.”
Jefferson moved on to face Prince Avenue on Monday, coming away with a much better result, as the Lady Dragons defeated the Lady Wolverines 59-36.
Erin Knight led Jefferson in scoring with 13 points. Emily Jacobs scored 12, and had nine rebounds in what Gibson said was her best game of the year.
Stephanie Fincher scored nine points, and Callie Holloway scored eight.
Gibson pointed to Marcayla Hester’s work on the defensive end as a strong factor in the win, as Hester held Prince Avenue’s leading scorer to just eight points in the game.
Gibson said the win was a real team effort, with 10 players scoring in the game.
“It was the first time all year that we played what I would consider a complete game as far as effort, intensity and overall the right approach,” Gibson said. “We had very few mistakes on either end of the floor. When you play mistake free basketball, it shows. You end up with a better chance to come out on top. It was a good win for us.”
With the win, the Lady Dragons were scheduled to face Clarke Central on Tuesday to determine who would come home as the fifth place finisher in the tournament. Results of that game were unavailable at press time.
Following the Warrior Classic, the Lady Dragons will get a few days off before playing host to Fannin County on Jan. 6.
