Lexington girls stay hot

Fri. January 27, 2012 at 11:00 p.m. | By Jason Queen

Lexington's Jasmine Carter prepares to shoot a turn-around jump shot after getting the ball in the post against East Davidson on Friday. (Photo by Donnie Roberts/The Dispatch)

THOMASVILLE | Jasmine Carter’s ability to score is no secret to anyone.

She put her unselfishness on full display Friday night.

The junior, who just scored her 1,000th career point a week ago, handed out six assists and controlled the lane to lead the Jackets to a 49-40 Central Carolina Conference victory at East Davidson on Friday. The win capped off a big week for the Jackets after Tuesday’s victory over West Davidson. They now sit at 3-3 in the league standings, good enough for a tie for third place with Central Davidson.

And Carter was right in the middle of it all. Trailing 34-31 midway through the fourth quarter, her 3-pointer started a 14-0 Lexington run that completely doomed the Eagles, who fell to 2-4 in the CCC.

Carter finished with six assists go to along with her 20 points, and that was just fine with coach Lamont Johnson. “Sometimes, I wish she was selfish,” Johnson said. “But she makes a whole lot of people around her better; once she gets the ball they collapse. Then if other people do their jobs … we’ve got a pretty good situation here right now.”

It was obvious from the onset it was not a good situation for the East girls. The team dedicated the game and the rest of the season to Nicole Atkinson, who’s spent the past week in the hospital with health issues. And Taylor Bell was involved in a car wreck about an hour before the game, so the Eagles were completely out of sorts.

“Our minds weren’t in it,” East coach Don Corry admitted. “The girls just got their minds out of the game before we even started tonight.”

For a while, the Eagles looked like they could plow through the adversity. The Jackets led 22-19 at the half, but two big 3-pointers from Sydney Jones kept East in it. The Eagles tied it up at 29-all heading to the fourth, and actually grabbed a 34-31 lead when Alyssa Harvell got behind the Lexington press and scored in transition.

Then Carter and the Jackets went to work. After picking up her dribble on the wing just behind the 3-point line, Carter couldn’t find an open teammate. But with the defense sagging off her, she buried the 3 to tie the score with 4:35 to play. She hit a baseline jumper moments later, then kicked out to Chariti Wall for a 3-pointer. When she found Brittany Jones in transition for a layup, the lead had swollen to 44-34 and Lexington was in complete control.

Jones added 11 points for the Jackets, who improved to 8-8 overall. Jones led the Eagles, who slipped to 10-8, with 13 points.


Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220 or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.