Middle School Basketball
Elizabethtown Girls 30, Clarkton School of Discovery 22
By Marsha Burney
Stats By Garrett Melvin, 6th grade Student Statistician
Jaytra Moore Peterson chunked in 27 points Thursday afternoon to propel the Elizabethtown Middle School ladies to a 30-22 win over the Clarkton School of Discovery. Natalie Gainey was the only other Lady Cougar to score; she had three points.
Clarkton jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after Lady Blue Devils Lorna Mendell and Ashley Hardin both hit jumpers in the first few minutes of the game. Peterson put Elizabethtown on the board at the 3-minute mark in the quarter, but Clarkton’s Erica McKoy scored to keep the Blue Devil lead at four.
Gainey trimmed the lead when she hit a jumper for Elizabethtown. With 54 seconds on the clock, Peterson pulled the Lady Cougars to a 6-all tie, and 30 seconds later, she hit a three-pointer to put the Lady Cougars into a 9-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Peterson opened the second quarter with a basket for the Lady Cougars, and Clarkton’s Anna Kate White answered with back-to-back jumpers to bring Clarkton back to within only one.
Clarkton’s McKoy then stole the ball, scored, and put her Lady Blue Devils in the lead at 12-11 in the last few seconds of the second quarter.
To start the second half, an Elizabethtown player shot in Clarkton’s basket and scored to put the Lady Blue Devils up, 14-11. From there, the two teams traded baskets almost one-for-one. Elizabethtown’s Peterson hit three baskets, and Clarkton’s McKoy hit one, and Blue Devil Jaya Howell swished two.
With 1:17 left in the third quarter, Clarkton hung on to a 20-17 lead. But, that’s when the tide turned for Elizabethtown. Peterson hit a three-pointer to tie at 20-all, and then with only four seconds left in the quarter, she drove into the lane and scored on an underhanded hook shot. At the end of the quarter, Elizabethtown had pulled to a 22-20 lead.
To start the fourth quarter, the teams traded a few fouls, inbound passes, and steals, but neither could score in the first two minutes. Elizabethtown’s Gainey hit the second of a two-shot foul, and then Peterson scored on a fast break to put the Lady Cougars up 25-20.
Clarkton’s White hit both of her one-and-one shots as the Lady Blue Devils tried to hang on, 25-22. Peterson scored a basket for Elizabethtown and hit her free throw when she was fouled on the play to put the Lady Cougars up, 28-22. With three seconds on the clock, Peterson scored again to clench the win for Elizabethtown.
Clarkton 6 6 8 2 – 22
Elizabethtown 9 5 8 8 – 30
Clarkton: Anna Kate White 6, Erica McKoy 5, Jaya Howell 4, Lorna Mendell 2, Ashley Hardin 2, Sarah Johnson, Kabarah Moore, Ting Lin, Cybil Campbell, Abbie Cross, Gracyn Martin, Lila McDuffie, Izzy Smith, Kirsten Starkloff.
Elizabethtown: Jatyra Moore Peterson 27, Natalie Gainey 3, Denisha Owens, Jana Wright, Cemizha Stephens, Leedemsa Cotton, Mya Williams, Victoria Pridgen, Zy’Asia Monroe, Kierra Willis, Shenell McMillina, Shykira Rhodes, Patience Ward.
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