Central rides dominant second quarter, three-pointers to 53-37 home win over Top-10 Bleckley County

The top-10 Central Lady Chargers kept their strong season rolling in convincing fashion Tuesday evening, dominating the No. 9 Bleckley County Lady Royals at home in a 53-37 region win.

The Chargers, ranked No. 1 in Georgia’s Class A-Division I by Sandy’s Spiel and No. 4 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ahead of Week 9, moved to 12-3 overall and 6-0 in region play with the victory. 

Central used a strong second quarter to take firm control of the showdown. The Royals, who fought hard in the opening period and went on a nice run to make it 12-9 after the first quarter, did not score a basket until there was only a minute left before halftime. By that point, the Chargers had extended their three-point lead to a 31-11 halftime advantage.

“I really didn’t even notice that in that quarter,” Central head coach Tamara Bolston-Williams said of the defensive showcase after the game. “We really just wanted to play a lot of disciplined defense, especially after the way the game started. That’s something we have as our identity as a team.”

Just about as important as the Chargers’ lockdown second quarter was Jikaylee Marshall’s individual effort. Marshall knocked down a whopping five three-pointers across the game, including some deep shots in the second half that got the bench roaring despite the wide margin on the scoreboard.

“Jikaylee Marshall has really been a true treasure for our team, a great asset, one of those unexpected blessings that God just drops out of the sky for you,” Bolston-Williams said with a smile. “We’re truly enjoying watching her and hope that everything that she does on the court pays off for her.”

Marshall finished with 17 points for the game and five rebounds. The only Charger with a better night points wise was Jazlyn Johnson, who scored 18 points of her own with five rebounds. Frances Anyakudo had 12 points to go with eight boards.

After a solid opening quarter, the dreadful second period doomed head coach John Stanley and the Royals. While Central’s defense did clamp down to shut out almost any pass that ventured inside the paint, some tough luck with shots rimming out did Bleckley County no favors.

That, when matched against the Chargers’ fine shooting, proved too big a task for the Royals.

“The game plan was pretty much to play a zone and then play man to try and get them off their rhythm and pretty much trying to not let them get set in what they like to do. Just trying to run the floor. But of course, it didn’t go that way,” Stanley said, chuckling. “We made a couple mistakes as far as passing the ball, made a lot of unforced turnovers that, with the forced ones, really put us in a hole.”

Aside from the second quarter, though, the Royals did manage to put some pressure on one of the state’s top teams. A lot of press defense netted the Royals some layups. Freshman Ava Jenkins finished with 14 points and some nice rebounds under the basket before fouling out late.

“She’s a humble young lady, she tries her hardest and puts everything into what she’s doing on and off the court, which is a blessing,” Stanley said. “She’s a freshman, too, so she’s gonna do nothing but grow. That being said, she needs to play against competition like that.”

Camya Harris and Zyaire Lindsey scrapped hard and often under the hoop on both ends of the floor for Bleckley as well, with Evian Beck trying to move the ball at the top of the key.

The game proved a useful litmus test for both teams as the nitty gritty of region play unfolds in a stacked Region 2-A Division I. 

“A game like this lets (the team) know the kind of competition that you’re gonna have to play against just in our region alone. We have four or five teams that have been in the top ten in our region alone,” Stanley said. “The biggest thing we take away from this game is that we gotta be focused from the tip-off, from the start of the game. You can’t wait, make four or five mistakes, then all of a sudden you’re down eight or nine points… that’s what I’m going to speak to them about.”

The Chargers maintained their grip on the top spot in the region standings with the win. The Royals now 8-4 overall and 4-2 in the region, are in fourth place. Central has a non-region game Wednesday against traditional rival Westside before a region road trip Friday against Southwest. The Royals play again Friday, when they’ll travel back to Macon to take on Northeast.