Lady Jackets stay in playoff hunt

By Sam Major
photos@wood.cm
Posted 1/20/22

The Mineola Lady Jackets soared past the Harmony Eagles 50-24 last Tuesday.

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Lady Jackets stay in playoff hunt

Posted

The Mineola Lady Jackets soared past the Harmony Eagles 50-24 last Tuesday.

After scoring the first five points and holding Harmony scoreless for over four minutes, the Eagles rattled off eight consecutive points.

A bucket in the waning seconds of the first period by Ava Johnson tied it at 8-8.

Two quick steals by Macy Fischer to open the second quarter were a harbinger of play to come, as Mineola dominated the period, scoring 16 more before the Eagles made a couple free throws with just 28 second left in the first half.

The Lady Jacket’s full-court press proved to be simply suffocating, with Johnson locked onto the in-bounder, flanked by a rotating barrage of Mineola’s wings featuring the Jackson sisters Jayla and Kyra, Kapri Riley and Macy Fischer.

Jayla Jackson hit her third three at the buzzer to give the Lady Jackets a comfortable 27-10 cushion to sit on in the locker room.

Mineola struggled to break Harmony’s press to start the third, and the Lady Jackets didn’t manage to get to the bucket in the period, with all their scoring coming from another three-pointer by Jayla Jackson and two from beyond the arc by Macy Fischer.

The Eagles hovered nearby, scoring 10 and closing the margin by one to 36-20 after three.

Mineola put the pedal back down in the fourth and pulled away easily. Though it’s tempting to lose intensity and get sloppy with such a lead, The Lady Jackets showed signs of sharpness still, making some solid passes to cutters heading to the basket.

They also resisted the urge to play loose defense, giving up just two buckets in the final frame. Paris Spigner put particular pressure on Harmony, forcing turnovers and getting rewarded with a couple buckets.

Macy Fischer spent some time dribbling out the clock in the last several minutes. Her quick, deft ball handling should prove to be an asset later in the season.

Jayla Jackson led scoring with 14 on four three-balls, Macy Fischer scored 11, Mylee Fischer added nine, Kyra Jackson had five, Kapri Riley and Spigner contributed four apiece and Johnson scored 3 points.

Mineola remained in fourth place in the district standings with a loss to Chapel Hill Friday. A late Lady Jacket rally fell just short, leaving Mineola at 3-3 through the first half of district play behind Chapel Hill at 4-2 and ahead of 2-4 Quitman.

Mineola hosted Winona Tuesday and goes to Quitman Friday.