Lovelady Captures Area Championship

Lady Lions Roar past Lady Jaguars, 48-35

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

JEWETT – The Lovelady Lady Lions took on the Hubbard Lady Jaguars last Friday night in the Area round of the UIL Basketball Playoffs and took care of business by a score 48-35.

After the game’s opening few minutes, the Lady Lions took a lead they would never relinquish as they opened up an eight point lead by the end of the first quarter. A quartet of Lovelady players – Hannah Burleson, Madelyn James, Kaiden LeMaire and Skye Watts – all had four in the first quarter while Jala Rollo made one of two from the charity stipe to a give the Lady Lions a 17-9 lead after one.

The Lady Jags were led by Brenea Lewis with four points, Tae’neece Johnson with three and Jadyn Gilham with two.

The tempo slowed down somewhat in the second quarter as both teams struggled from the field. The Lady Lions only mustered eight points in the period on six from Watts and two from Burleson.

Hubbard, meanwhile, couldn’t seem to buy a basket as they only netted four on twos from Johnson and Lewis to make the halftime score 25-13.

Trailing by 13 as the third quarter got underway, the Lady Jags attempted to make a comeback. The Lady Lions, however, were having none of it as they continued to out hustle Hubbard on both ends of the court.

LeMaire paced Lovelady with seven points in the third and was joined by Brittani Gambill with four along with Watts who dropped in a pair of free throws to make the score 38-25 after three.

The Hubbard offensive attack saw Tyrika Jones with four points while four other Lady Jags – Johnson, B. Lewis, Misha Lewis and Kaylee Pederson – all had two.

As the fourth quarter got underway, Head Coach Jeff Rollo’s squad began to milk the clock. The strategy was successful as the Lady Lions held the Lady Jags at bay to win the game by a final score of 48-35.

Lovelady’s fourth quarter points came from Rollo and Watts with three apiece, while Gambill and LeMaire both had two.

Hubbard saw Johnson and B. Lewis knock down five apiece in the final frame to account for the Lady Jags point production in the fourth.

For the game, Lovelady was led in scoring by Skye Watts with a game high 15 points and Kaiden LeMaire with 13. Hannah Burleson and Brittani Gambill both had six while Madelyn James and Jala Rollo each had four.

The Lady Jags were paced by Brenea Lewis with 13 points and Tae’neece Johnson with 12. Tyrika Jones had four while Jaydyn Gilham, Misha Lewis and Kaylee Pederson all had two to close out the Hubbard scoring.

With the win, the Lady Lions advance to the Regional Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 20 where they will face the Centerville Lady Tigers in a clash of District 20-2A foes. The game will be held at Leon High School with the tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY of MIKE WHATLEY

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].

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