The St. Francis moved one step closer to defending its Class A – Private girls championship with a resounding 79-31 win over Mount Paran Christian in the quarterfinals Thursday at Kennesaw State.
The No. 1 seeded Knights (29-1) had four girls score in double figures and won their 16th straight game. The team’s only loss this season came against nationally ranked Forestville, Mary. They have won their six games by an average of 48 points.
Mt. Paran will play the winner of the Southwest Atlanta Christian-Lakeview Academy game in the semifinals on Saturday at 3 p.m.
St. Francis was led in scoring by sophomore Jala Jordon with 17 points and Maya Dodson with 14 points, 13 in the second half. The Knights also got 11 points from Nichel Tampa and 10 points from Kori McDaniels.
No. 8 seeded Mount Paran (21-6) was led by senior Bree Brown with 16 points. Sydney Rosant added 11 points.
“We’ve been focusing on defense and rebounding,” said coach Aisha Kennedy. “Right now we’re without our center (Kasiyahna Kushkituah) and that’s 10 rebounds a game we’re missing.”
St. Francis made it difficult for Mount Paran to even take a shot in the first period. The Knights scored the first eight points of the game and led 19-6 after the first quarter.
Things got worse for Mt. Paran in the second quarter, as St. Francis outscored the Eagles 23-7 and took a 42-13 halftime lead.
“We’re just happy to win and move on,” Kennedy said “We want to get back to Macon, but we can’t look past Southwest Atlanta Christian or Lakeview Academy. They’re both good teams and we’ll have to play well to beat them.”
About the Author
