Lady Saints outlast 

Sumter Central

 

Strong fourth-quarter defense helped the Selma Lady Saints squash any hopes of a comeback, as they defeated the Sumter Central Lady Jaguars 49-31 on Saturday.

Anthony Harris, head coach of the Lady Saints (17-3, 5-0), said tough defense was the key to victory.

“We looked okay in the first half, made a good little run and came back out in the second half and went up pretty good,” Harris said. “They put some pressure on us, my guard didn’t take control and they played some stingy defense, but after I called a timeout and told them to play for keeps, we got under control. Really what helped us down the stretch was we played pretty good defense. Overall we played a pretty good game tonight.”

The Lady Saints dominated for most of the game’s first three quarters, leading by as much as 19 points, but Sumter Central stormed back to cut game to single digits at 33-25 early in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Saints responded with a basket in the paint from Jameneshia Caver to push the score to 35-25 with 7:00 remaining.

Caver’s basket sparked Selma, as the Lady Saints scored the next seven points and played scrappy defense, forcing the Lady Jaguars to take tough shots.

The Lady Saints were led by Jonishia Jackson, who had 16 points on the night, and Jasmine Peeples, who had a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Caver added 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Lady Saints.

Both Selma High teams will take the floor again on Tuesday when they play Greenville in their final area game of the season.

Games start at 5 p.m. and will be played at Wallace Community College-Selma.