Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Norphlet Leopards Handle Two Jays' Teams, Senior Boys Win

The Jays split three games with Norphlet Tuesday, Dec. 5.

However, the only Nevada victory came with the senior boys pounded Norphlet 82-67. The junior and senior girls both lost.

The Jays opened slowly as they trailed 16-15 at the conclusion of the initial eight minutes. However, the team warmed up and posted a 38-32 halftime advantage.

The Jays put another 23 points on the board in the third quarter as they pulled away to a 61-47 lead, and coasted for the win.

Tavoris Blakely had the hot hand in the game as he scored 23, including five three-pointers. Joseph Young sent 11 through the net, and Ricardo Young added 10.

The Jays shot just over 50 percent from the charity stripe as they connected on eight of 14 attempts.

Jerome Risk paced Norphlet with 16. Calvin Banks added 11 in the loss.

The Leopards had more opportunities to shoot free throws and made 17 in 30 tries.

Nevada's senior girls didn't fare as well, as they went down 40-31 in their game against the Lady Leopards.

The Lady Jays had a good first period as they worked their way to a 13-8 lead. That was the only time they would score in double figures in a period.

In the second quarter, the Lady Leopards stormed back to go up 20-18 at the break, but went ice cold in the third period as they only scored two points. The Lady Jays managed to lead 24-22 at the end of three, but were outscored 18-7 in the fourth.

Dilesha Easter led the Lady Jays with nine points. Vanessa Evans contributed seven.

The Lady Jays connected on seven of 13 free throw attempts in the game.

Jamie Butler led the Lady Leopards with an even dozen, while teammate Donna Kay Barnhardt added 11.

Norphlet was 12 of 19 from the line.

A sluggish first quarter was all it took for Norphlet's junior girls to drop Nevada 30-25.

The Jr. Lady Jays opened the game by only being able to score three points, on a three-pointer from Jackie House, and were scoreless the rest of the period. On the other hand, the Lady Cubs put eight on the board during the quarter.

The second quarter improved for Nevada as both squads scored eight, but the Jr. Lady Jays still trailed 16-11 at intermission.

Norphlet outscored Nevada 10-7 in the third period to extend their lead to 26-18. Though the Jr. Lady Jays fought back in the final stanza, they fell short.

The Nevada squad shot .500 from the line, but that meant hitting two of four.

Janie Lambert led all scorers with 12 for Norphlet.

The Lady Cubs also shot 50 percent in free throws, connecting on five of 10.

Nevada will be on the road Dec. 16, as they head to Emerson.