Lady Spartans continue winning spree, boys pick up region victory





The Lady Spartans continue to dominate on the basketball court, as evidenced by the addition of two more wins to their record. Overall, the girls are 11-1, with a 3-1 region record.

On Jan. 8, the Lady Spartans handed a 48-30 loss to region foe Thomas Jefferson Academy. Senior Memory Kate Goodin led the effort with 14 points, followed by senior Marley Knight, who had 9, and junior Claudia Post, who posted 8. Goodin had a double double for the night, as she also pulled down 11 rebounds. Sophomore Malana Williams had a season high of 6 steals to go along with 4 assists, and head coach Larry Keller said she “continues to find her niche as the season progresses.”

Edmund Burke traveled to Eatonton on Friday, Jan. 11, where they faced the Lady Gators of Gatewood High School. Keller said they “escaped the briar patch unscathed with a 45- 32 victory.” Post was on top of the leader board with 13 points, followed by Goodin, who put in 9, and Williams with 8.

Senior Kitty Lewis came off the bench to give the Lady Spartans 5 points, and her classmate Rylee Cook contributed 6 in the girls’ region win.

“With this win, we control our destiny; we play everyone in the region one more time and with a sweep can secure the number one seed in the region tournament.”

On the boys’ side, they split their region matchups, picking up one win and one loss.

Long time region rival Thomas Jefferson left Waynesboro Friday night with a 63-59 loss on their backs.

Head coach Evan Butcher said the Spartans took good shots and forced 19 turnovers on the defensive side.

“We are attacking the basket, getting to the free-throw line and hitting our free throws,” Butcher said, adding that the Spartans still need to work on boxing out and rebounding. “We gave up sixteen offensive rebounds that led to sixteen points for Thomas Jefferson.”

Leading the Spartans to victory was junior Tripp Parker, who posted an impressive 24 points on the night. He made 8 straight free throws at the end of the game to preserve the lead for the Spartans.

Senior Jaylon Glisson and junior Jeremy Gay also contributed 15 and 13 points, respectively. Parker and Glisson pulled down the most rebounds, with 8 each, and Glisson had 4 steals. Senior Collier Smith had 3 steals. The Spartans were 15/22 from the free-throw line.

Though the Spartans fell 52-45 in their matchup against Gatewood on Friday, Butcher said their press defense is continuing to improve each game.

Both teams played a tight first half, with the Spartans outscoring the Gators by just one point at the end of the first quarter, 12-11, and pulling ahead 20-17 as the half ended with Parker hitting a buzzer beater threepointer.

“We had a lack of movement in the second half,” Butcher said. “We did not box out well and gave up seventeen offensive rebounds that led to eighteen second chance points for Gatewood.”

Parker and senior Joey Wall led the Spartans offensively in points, earning 10 each, and Gay contributed 9. Parker and Wall also led their team in rebounds,with4apiece.Gay and sophomores Carson Woods and Brantley Jones each had one steal.

Edmund Burke played David Emanuel on the road Monday and hosted Augusta Prep on Tuesday, but results were not available at press time. Up next, they’ll host Briarwood on Friday, Jan. 18, and travel to Louisville to face TJA on Tuesday, Jan. 22. The girls’ games will begin both nights at 6 p.m. followed immediately by the boys.



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