Lady Mustangs beat Bob Jones again
Madison Academy's KeKe Fletcher and Lydia McGee attempt to wrestle the ball away from Bob Jones' Jasmine Jones during the Mustangs' victory over the Patriots Thursday night.
The Madison Academy Lady Mustangs claimed supremacy in the city of Madison Thursday night by downing the Bob Jones Patriots for the second time this season.
The No. 1-ranked Class 3A Mustangs (26-2) defeated the No. 3-ranked Class 6A Patriots, 52-40, in the Times Classic tournament championship, and then put an exclamation point on the Dec. 23 victory with Thursday’s win.
“It’s really good for us to play a game like this toward the end of the season,” Madison Academy head coach Brian Privett said of playing the Class 6A Patriots (20-7). “We’ve talked about being comfortable in uncomfortable situations, and we’re going to have to do that if we want to play on the big stage and win a championship.”
Privett complimented his “seasoned team” for their “poise” in such a big game, and Bob Jones head coach Tim Miller agreed, using those exact same words.
“They’re real seasoned and poised,” Miller said. “They made plays and we didn’t.”
Miller also said he had no doubt Madison Academy is capable of playing on the big stage for a championship.
“I’m just glad we don’t have to go through them to get to Birmingham,” Miller said.
The Mustangs opened a 10-point lead in the first quarter before the Patriots closed the lead to four in the second quarter.
That would be as close as the Patriots would get all night.
Madison Academy took a six-point lead into the half and increased it to as much as 15 in the third quarter.
The Patriots closed the gap to six on a three-pointer by Rikeyah McKinnon with 39 seconds remaining, but four Lydia McGee free throws sealed the victory.
McGee led the Mustangs with 14 points, while Nyla Johnson finished with 13 points.
“Lydia just showed what a player she is,” Privett said, “and Nyla is just a warrior and a leader. She had an extra pep in her step tonight.”
Amara Mayers also had 10 points in the win, while KeKe Fletcher finished with nine.
For Bob Jones, Tierra Jones had a game-high 16 points, followed by China Leary with nine points and Andrea Matthews with eight points.
