By Mark Carpenter-
Since a disappointing loss to Portsmouth Notre Dame in last season’s Division IV district finals, Coach Billie Jo Justice and her Peebles Lady Indians have had their eyes focused on a return trip, with another opportunity to claim a district title and move on to the state’s Sweet 16. The Lady Indians will get that opportunity this Thursday night by virtue of their 47-31 win over Belpre on Saturday, Feb. 23 on the hardwood at Jackson High School.
After handling Green in the sectional finals, the Lady Indians faced a very physical Belpre Lady Eagles squad in their 29th trip to the district semis in school history. Though the Lady Eagles were bigger and more physical, finesse and skill won out as Peebles got a 24-point effort from Jacey Justice, took control of the game early, and cruised into the district title game with a 47-31 win.
“We had to get out and get things going aggressive early because sometimes we struggle in the half court set,” said Coach Justice in her postgame radio interview. “Being here last year really helped us, knowing the surroundings and all.”
“We did a nice job with our defense and rotating back in our press and we didn’t give them very many good looks at the rim. We needed an up tempo game and we got that from our side.”
The Lady Eagles got the game’s first basket but it was all Peebles from that point on. A basket inside by Lilly Gray and then a pair of Justice three-pointers got the Lady Indians’ offense rolling as they jumped to a 10-4 advantage. The Peebles defense was solid all day and turned numerous Belpre turnovers into scores and that is how the first quarter ended, two Belpre turnovers leading to a Tatum Arey basket and another Justice triple and a 15-4 lead for the Lady Indians.
There was no letdown as the second quarter began as the Peebles girls reeled off the first nine points, all from Justice and Gray, to take a commanding 24-4 lead at the 2:21 mark. The Lady Eagles regained enough composure to get into double figures by halftime, but the break still saw the Lady Indians holding a 26-10 advantage.
The third period began with Justice’s fourth three-pointer of the game, as it just became a case of slow the game down, run the clock, and nurse the big lead for the Lady Indians. In the third stanza, the eventual winners got baskets from Arey, Gray, Jerilin Toller, and point guard Kylie Sims, who returned to the lineup after missing time with a foot injury. The third quarter closed on a Justice basket with 1.6 seconds left that gave Peebles a 42-17 lead.
The final eight minutes of the game turned out to be the best eight minutes for the Lady Eagles but unfortunately they were 25 points in the hole when it started. Belpre won the final period 14-5, but all that did was make the final score look closer than the game really was, as the Lady Indians earned a chance for the fifth district title in school history, downing the Lady Eagles by the final count of 47-31.
Jacey Justice had another big game for the winners, scoring 24 points, all of those in the first three quarters, and she was joined in double figures by Lilly Gray’s 11 points, with Tatum Arey adding 8.
Belpre was led by 19 points from Kyna Waderker.
Next up for the Peebles girls is another trip to Jackson on Thursday, Feb. 28, where they will face the Waterford Lady Wildcats with a Division IV district championship on the line. Tip off is set for 8:15 p.m. as the Lady Indians look for their first district title since 1998.
“Waterford is just a team that plays hard with a lot of confidence and they play very aggressive,” said Coach Justice. “They go pretty deep so it is going to be up to us to decide how we can attack them.”
Belpre
4 6 7 14 – 31
Peebles
15 11 16 5 —47
Belpre (31): Williams 1 0-0 2, LaFatch 0 0-2 0, Waderker 7 4-9 19, Griffin 3 1-3 7, Ray 1 0-0 3, Team 12 5-14 31.
Peebles (47): Justice 8 4-7 24, Toller 1 0-0 2, Arey 4 0-3 8, Gray 4 3-3 11, Sims 1 0-0 2, Team 18 7-13 47.
Three-Point Goals:
Belpre (2)- Waderker 1, Ray 1
Peebles (4)- Justice 4
