Central girls snag tournament title in Jones County

Washington County stuck close with sixth-ranked Central on Friday through the first quarter of girls championship game of the State Bank Classic hosted by Jones County.

The Chargers made sure they didn’t stay there.

Central (7-1) kept up the pressure on both ends of the floor to pull away to lead by nearly 20 points through three quarters on the way to taking a 65-44 win and the tournament title.

It was a banner night in more ways than one for the Chargers. JenYa Wilder and Jada Clowers nabbed all-tournament honors, and Tyleia Williams was named the tournament’s girls MVP.

Four who mattered

Wilder: She kept was able to do a good chunk of her damage in the paint against the Golden Hawks, and Wilder turned things on in a big way in the third quarter — scoring 12 of her points.

Clowers: The forward had a size advantage on Friday, and she used it to her advantage by out-muscling WACO (7-2) for rebounds and also feasting in second-chance scoring opportunities. Her 17 points played a big role in the Chargers keeping their momentum going through the game, frustrating the Golden Hawks.

ReNesha Goolsby: Kept Washington County spread out with clutch shots from the perimeter — draining a trio of 3-point shots.

Williams: Finished with a gritty eight points, and also playing a key role on defense in slowing any momentum the Golden Hawks tried to generate.

Turning point

Central trailed 12-11 early in the second quarter. The deficit was short-lived.

A 6-0 run within 30 seconds started with a Clowers layup followed by a Wilder putback and Zaren Harris layup off a turnover made it 18-12, and Central wasn’t challenged for the lead again. Overall, the Chargers went on a 10-3 run over four minutes to wrest control of the game.

Observations

Too much Central: Washington County hustled hard and went after balls and got some degree of offensive traction with the play of Nijeria Jordan, who had 20 points. But those points weren’t enough to be bunched close enough together to allow the Golden Hawks to make a run. Central’s depth and ability to drive the lane on Friday played a large role in the final three quarters being a game of catch up for the squad from Sandersville.

Earlier on Friday

In Friday’s earlier games at Jones County, Central’s boys edged Eastside 55-54 with the Greyhounds also taking a one-point boys win, 41-40. In girls games, Eastside beat Shiloh 53-47, Upson-Lee topped Westside 56-45 and Warner Robins beat Jones County 52-41.

They said it

Central head coach Sheila Toombs on Central’s tournament win: “It’s another step. We’re trying to take it day by day and game by game.”

Toombs on the team’s focus on playing well Friday in the second half: “We can’t do like (Thursday) and do, as they say, ‘chill for a little bit.’ We’ve got to continue to put our foot to the floor and keep things moving.”

Toombs on the play of Harris to slow down Washington County’s Jordan: “Zaren stays humble. I asked her to pick up (Jordan) and she said yes and went out there and stayed after it. She had that task and went with it.”

What’s next?

Central plays again on Thursday in the Baldwin County Holiday Tournament.

This story was originally published December 23, 2017 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Central girls snag tournament title in Jones County."