Women's Basketball | 12/10/2024 7:49:00 PM

The Clinton Women's Basketball team capitalized on the extra pass for high-percentage shots and suffocating defense on Tuesday night.

The Lady Arrows (10-2) never trailed after Jatoi Johnson's lay-up with under two minutes left in the first quarter and defeated the Leake Central Lady Gators 62-42 at Arrow Gym. The victory extended its winning streak to five games, including a 54-13 win over Warren Central last Friday night (Dec. 6) in Vicksburg.

Clinton's offense never settled for the first look at the basket, exploiting Leake Central's defense, and shot 62.5% as a team from the field. Johnson dropped 20 points, connecting on nine of 11 shots. Alajah Davis added 13 points, and Grace Eatmon chipped in 10 points in the 20-point win.

Defensively, the Lady Arrows forced 18 Lady Gator turnovers and collected seven steals. On the glass, Clinton grabbed 23 rebounds.

Leake Central knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as the visitors raced to a 6-1 advantage in the game's opening minutes. Then, the Lady Arrows turned up the heat with a 13-2 run in the last three minutes, 23 seconds of the first period. During the first-quarter run, Eyana McKinley led the way with her five points, and Eatmon added four points for a 14-8 advantage.

The success continued through the second quarter. The Lady Arrows stretched their advantage to 15 points on Keziah Kimple's mid-range jump shot and carried a 32-20 lead into the intermission.

Leake Central provided a valiant effort during the second half, but it was never enough to catch Clinton, which maintained a double-digit advantage the remainder of the game. The Lady Arrows' largest lead was 18 points during the third before getting its advantage to the final lead of 20 points during the last eight minutes. 

UP NEXT

Clinton travels to Raymond on Friday, taking on the Lady Rangers at 6 p.m. at Raymond High School. In the previous meeting on Friday, Nov. 22, at Arrow Gym, the Lady Arrows stomped Raymond, 55-17. 

The Lady Arrows open Region 2-7A action on the road against the Germantown Lady Mavericks next Tuesday, Dec. 17, in Gluckstadt. The tip-off is set for 6 p.m.