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Jackson's Lady Tigers turn defense into Gateway Conference championship against Sandalwood
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- Jackson's Lady Tigers turn defense into Gateway Conference championship against Sandalwood
Defense wins championships.
It's an adage that many have said, but few can emulate.
On Friday, Jackson's girls basketball squad turned that saying into a statement win.
The Lady Tigers defeated Sandalwood 48-27 behind a strong third quarter where they outscored the visitors 20-7, winning the Gateway Conference championship.
As if the 13-point advantage wasn't impressive enough, they forced Sandalwood to claw and scratch for those seven points—shutting out the Lady Saints through the first six minutes of the quarter.
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"I'm speechless," Tigers coach Lorlesha Pitts said after the game. "I don't really know what to say. I don't know how to feel. This is something that I haven't experienced in a while so I'm just overwhelmed with joy that my girls came and played their butts off today."
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The game plan was obvious from the start of the contest. Jackson wanted to slow down Sandalwood's Jada Jones and make her teammates beat them. Xaniya Jackson had the task of guarding Jones and she left no doubt that she was up to the billing.
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Early in the game, the two centers battled each other with the Tigers coming away victorious on multiple occasions. Xaniya Jackson forced a jump ball and even had a few blocks with so much force that Jones went crashing to the floor.
The more Sandalwood tried to feed Jones, the more Jackson's stout defense shined.
But the Lady Saints had a strong defensive showing of their own in the second quarter. They forced five turnovers in the first three minutes of the second period. Every time Jackson tried to push the ball up the court, a Sandalwood player knocked the ball away and gave the visitors a shot to close the deficit.
But they never could capitalize on Jackson's miscues.
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Only 10 points were scored in the second, five by each team. Jackson went into the break leading 20-11 and decided to kick the intensity up from there, leading to an 18-0 run in the first six minutes of the third period.
By the time the fourth quarter came around, the deficit was insurmountable for the Lady Saints. Pitts credited Jones and Sandalwood's first-year head coach Maggie Flynn after the game.
"Oh man, that coach is phenomenal," Pitts said after the game. "This is her first year. I look forward to competing against her for years to come. Jada is awesome. I've been watching her since she was in the ninth grade. I'm just glad my girls came ready for the challenge."
With the win Jackson has claimed its first Gateway Conference title since 2010. The road to get here wasn't always straight. But with an impressive win against then-unbeaten Mandarin on Wednesday and a statement win again Sandalwood, it was all smiles on Main Street.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jackson wins 2022 Gateway Conference championship in girls basketball
