Wright powers Jones
Korneila Wright put on a show on the final day of the girls basketball regular season.
The UCF commit scored 29 of her 39 points in the second half Saturday to help Jones break loose for a 92-73 win over Seminole at the Bright House Sports Network Showcase at Colonial.
“She’s been doing this since she was eight years old,” Jones coach Robert Moultrie said. “I told her the ball was in her hands.”
And Wright had little trouble running with it as she hit a 3-pointer late in the third quarter, then converted another bucket off a steal to help open a 54-46 advantage. A basket by Seminole’s Aniquah Swan cut into the deficit entering the fourth, but the Seminoles got no closer.
Wright added seven rebounds, five steals and five assists in the win.
The BHSN Showcase featured seven girls basketball games on the eve of district tournament play, which begins Monday.
After Wright opened the fourth with a bucket the Tigers maintained momentum on a 3-pointer by Jamiya Turner. Jones (15-8) went on to open up a 20-point lead from there at 74-54 with five minutes to play.
Turner finished with 17 points while Chardell Jones, who lead a defensive surge at the end of the second half, added 18 points and seven rebounds.
Jones blocked a shot midway through the second quarter and turned it into a layup at the other end of the floor to give the Tigers a 33-30 lead.
Both teams tightened up defensively from there as Jones blocked her second shot of the game, then followed that up with a steal. Although the Tigers got nothing off the turnovers, they helped set the tone for what was to come.
Swan, who led Seminole (21-4) with 23 points and 15 rebounds, drained two free throws inside the final minute to get Seminole within a point, 33-32, at the break.
Re’yanna Jones added 21 points and seven rebounds, but the Seminoles turned the ball over 23 times.
“Our main thing in the second half was to just go out there and play physical,” Wright said. “We were letting them get some open shots on us and we just needed to focus on playing defense.”
Lake Highland Prep opened the final game of the day with a 10-0 lead against Colonial before staking claim to a 60-45 win.
Jaylyn Harrison got the Grenadiers (20-4) to within 31-29 on a 3-pointer late in the third quarter but the Highlanders (22-3) scored 10 in a row to close out the quarter.
Jordan Lewis led Lake Highland Prep with 14 points. Her assist in the lane to Koi Love extended the advantage to 44-34 with just under six minutes to play.
Love finished with 11 points and Rachel Jablonski added 13. Harrison led Colonial with 12 points.