Late Run Continues Lady Jags’ State Hopes

Jacob Martella, Editor
February 22, 2012
Filed under Sports

Down by ten in the second half to Seguin, the Lady Jags faced the real possibility of bowing out of the playoffs early.

Shots weren’t falling. Fouls weren’t going there way. All of the momentum wasn’t going their way.

“We definitely didn’t shoot the ball well that first half,” head coach Tammy Lusinger said.

The seniors, however, were not about to let it all end this way.

Led by senior Ashley Eli, the Lady Jags outscored the Lady Cougars 20-7 in the final frame to clinch a 42-37 win and a spot in the regional semifinal round.

“That was a huge win for us,” senior Shayna Jackson said. “It was a confidence booster. A lot of were people doubting us because of all of the injuries and stuff we’ve had to deal with this season.  and you know how people say it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season.”

The Lady Jags started out getting the first two points of the game, but from there the Lady Cougars outscored them 22-14 in the first half to build a 22-16 halftime lead.

Freshman Nia Jackson attributed their slow start to Seguin’s hustle.

“To me, there wasn’t really a frustrating part,” Nia said. “It was just that they were hustling more and we needed to hustle a lot more than we were.”

That’s when the seniors took over.

“We just said ‘This is our time and this is our year’,” senior Tierra Brown said.

Shayna said they didn’t want to go out like this this year.

“We basically looked at each other and said we didn’t want this to be our last high school game,” Shayna said. “We’re the more experienced team, so we had to go out there and get the job done.”

In the fourth, things finally start rolling the Lady Jags’ way.

The Lady Jags chipped away at the lead, while holding the Lady Cougars to virtually nothing possession after possession. Shayna capped it all off with a three to bring the game within one.

“It felt great,” Shayna said. “I was having a really off game. My shot wasn’t dropping, so it felt really good to hit a shot like that to change the momentum of the game.”

From there, the Lady Jags made 13 of 14 free throws, including four straight by Eli, to finish off the rally.

“For me, I know that’s a big thing,” Eli said. “I’ve been struggling from the free throw line. I knew that if I was hitting free throws, I was feeling good about myself and I was confident with everything else on the floor, so it helped us on defense.

In all, the Lady Jags shot 17 of 18 from the free throw line.

The Lady Jags now advance to the regional semifinal round where they will be greeted with a rematch with Canyon Friday night in Syder, Texas. Last year, the Lady Eagles knocked off the Lady Jags 29-26 in the same round.

Eli, who was at the line in the final minute to tie or win the game, said this time around they’re ready.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a totally different team,” Eli said. “We’re Summit. They’re Canyon. I know we played last year, but this game is going to be totally different.

“We’re all going in with nothing to lose. They have all of the pressure on them. It’s going to be a totally different experience.”

But looking back to Tuesday night, Coach Lusinger said this could be a game that propels them into the state tournament in Austin.

“Some kids gained some confidence tonight,” Lusinger said. “We had some JV kids play hard and get some work, so that’s exciting.”