Lady Trojans defeat LOA in OT

Published 10:19 am Saturday, December 14, 2024

There’s been a real case of the overtimes going around the Peach State recently, and John Milledge Academy girls basketball was not immune Tuesday.

Like those Georgia Bulldogs of the football field, the Lady Trojans were victorious in their extra-time contest versus visiting Lake Oconee Academy. JMA (4-1) won it 41-37 in the final minute of the overtime period with rebounding and effort.

“We fight hard. I think that’s why we won the ballgame,” first-year JMA girls head coach Jodan Walters said. “There were times we scored because we out-hustled them or got a rebound. It was a little more sloppy than what I’d like to see. There were moments of brilliance, but way too many turnovers. In the same breath, I’m trying to be patient knowing I’m new to them, they’re new to me, and we’ve only had five ballgames.”

Walters came over to John Milledge after having been head coach at her high school alma mater Gatewood in Eatonton. She entered her new job with largely a clean slate. Four seniors graduated from last year’s Final Four Lady Trojan team, including a pair of 1,000-point scorers. With a 4-1 start, Walters seems to have the program on the rebound.

The Lady Trojans got going quickly Tuesday, leading 7-0 almost halfway through the first quarter before the Lady Titans got onto the scoreboard. The visitors from Greensboro were having a tough time solving John Milledge’s press as it took them a few minutes to even get the basketball past half court.

The Lady Trojans’ strength lies inside with players like senior Calah Foston, the team’s lone returning All-Region honoree from a year ago. She put back an offensive rebound to make it 4-0 and sophomore Emma Jackson added some points from close as well to extend the game-opening run to 7-0. LOA battled back though, getting a steal and layup from Beth Harris followed by a 3 shot by senior Brianna Glave. The home team still held on to a 12-8 lead through one played.

The second quarter was uneventful with only 10 points scored between the two teams. The score sat 16-14 in JMA’s favor going into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Lady Trojan senior Kylie Steinmeyer provided a defensive highlight when she chased down an LOA dribbler in the open court and blocked her shot from behind. Later the Lady Titans would go on to take their first lead on Harris’ three from the left corner, making it 20-19 LOA with 5:40 left in the third. The Greensboro school toted a two-point advantage when the game went to what everyone thought was the final quarter.

The fourth was a back-and-forth flurry of activity. Both teams held the lead at different times, but neither could pull away by more than two points. John Milledge’s Jackson hit 1-of-2 from the line to tie things up at 35-all with just 12 seconds to go. The LOA girls got up one no-good attempt before the buzzer, so to overtime the non-region matchup went.

Foston helped set the tone early, scoring on a third-chance opportunity on the first possession. The scoreboard went quiet for awhile until LOA mustered an answer with 1:15 left. With time winding down and the game tied 37-37, Foston was sent to the free throw line where she hit the first and missed the second. Junior Addie Latimer helped provide a little insurance by rebounding that miss. The ball eventually found its way to Jackson in the post where she fought through contact for an and-one (free throw good) with just 28 seconds remaining. The four-point lead held through the final buzzer in what was a gritty win for Walters’ Lady Trojans.

“Sometimes to win you’ve got to find a way to score,” the head coach said. “That’s what I challenged the girls to do. It doesn’t have to be beautiful right now, but the hustle and effort can’t stop.”

Included in the things that aren’t beautiful category was the team’s free throw shooting performance at below 50%, but it was still enough to get the job done.

For Walters, it’s been a case of so far, so good her first season at the helm.

“The girls have bought in to what I’ve presented really well,” she said. “I don’t think people expect much from us with all the players we lost from last year. If we clean some things up and really execute, I think we can win some ballgames people don’t expect us to win.”

The Lady Trojans will be back on their home floor Saturday hosting Trinity Christian in a 2 p.m. tip.