Lady Pats Fall In State Quarters

JCHS vs. Mt. Juliet in State Quarter Finals, March 5, 2014
Staff Photo by Mike Stanley, Jefferson County Post Sports

The old saying, “speed kills”, wasn’t the case in Jefferson County’s loss to Mt. Juliet in the state quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon. Vertical challenge was certainly in play, however, as the Lady Golden Bears had three girls on the court at all times that were taller than anyone on the Jefferson County roster, keeping the game out of reach for the Lady Patriots. The Lady Patriots struggled to find a way to slow down Mt Juliet’s scoring inside and were eventually subdued by the Lady Golden Bears, 65-37.

The first quarter saw Jefferson County come out with intensity and grit however, Mt. Juliet would lead after one 16-6. The Lady Patriots would come out in the second with that same enthusiasm and intensity, but the shots just would not fall. Jefferson County would only be able to score 2 points in the second quarter and Mt. Juliet would take a 36-8 advantage into the half. The Lady Patriots would find some offense in the second half and would finally resemble the team that beat Farragut in the sub-state tournament. Mt. Juliet would also would find some offensive rhythm and lead going into the fourth, 59-21. Jefferson County would not give up, they came out in the fourth and fought tooth and nail for every loose ball, rebound, and showed tremendous intensity on the defensive side. Their stellar defense in the fourth led to some easy offensive looks, which they were able to convert. The Lady Patriots would outscore the Lady Golden Bears 16-6 in the final quarter, but it wasn’t enough and the Lady Patriots season came to an end, 65-37.

The Lady Patriots did cause 16 turnovers while only committing 12 of their own. They also shot better from the charity stripe at 7-12(58.3%) while Mt. Juliet was just 3-7(42.9%). Jefferson County would also improve throughout the entire ball game, while shooting just 3-20(15%) in the first half, they shot 10-15(66.7%) in the second half.

The Lady Patriots were led in scoring by senior Autumn Dodson with 9 points followed by Destiny Bales and Alexandra Alder with 5 each. MaKayla Doane and Makaila Woolard would each score 3, while Tori Griffin, Jordan Jennings, Jacey Diaz, Julia Codispoti, Hannah Brooks, and Kati Fawbush all scored 2 points a piece.