Jaguars get sharp, beat Falcons

By JASON BLACK

For the MV Independent

Tuesday’s Section 3-5A clash between Connellsville and visiting Thomas Jefferson featured plenty of chances for the Falcons to put a little scare into the Jaguars. 

When the two teams met earlier this season at Thomas Jefferson, the Jaguars rolled to a convincing 59-28 win. In the rematch at Connellsville, the Jaguars weren’t sharp early, but the Falcons couldn’t take advantage, and the results ended up being similar to the first contest as Thomas Jefferson earned a 52-27 win.

“We didn’t hit timely shots in the first half,” Connellsville coach Shawna Little said, lamenting the fact that her team couldn’t take advantage of some uncharacteristic mistakes by Thomas Jefferson. “There were opportunities for momentum shifts and they let us hang around, but we couldn’t take advantage.”

The Jaguars (10-6, 8-1) were cold in the early going and the Falcons (5-5, 5-4) were able to grab a slim 6-2 lead on back-to-back baskets by Hillary Claycomb and a deuce by Madison Kinneer. Unfortunately for the Falcons, after the initial burst of scoring, the offense dried up throughout the remainder of the first half.

The Jaguars took the lead with a 7-0 run to close the first quarter, and never relinquished it. The lead swelled to 15-6 as Thomas Jefferson polished off a 13-0 spurt. Graci Fairman led the charge for the Jaguars as she netted 11 points in the first half on her way to a 17-point night.

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