8-1 heading into last game of regular season

PLEASANTON - The Pleasanton Junior High Lady Blu-Jays eighth grade basketball team sits at 8-1 heading into the final game of the 2009 league season this Thursday at home against Uniontown.

"The game with Uniontown will determine seeding for the league tournament," noted Coach Duane Stark.

The Jays opened the season with a 27-11 win over St. Rose and beat Westphalia that same week, 24-14.

Moran gave the Jays a scare in game three, but the Jays held on to win, 16-14.

Crest fell to the Jays in game four, 26-12.

The Jays hammered St. Rose on Nov. 5, 47-21.

Westphalia proved to be tough in the Jays' Nov. 9, double-OT 43-42 win.

The following night, Uniontown beat the Jays 32-29, but they bounced back to the winning edge beating Moran, 24-17 on Nov. 12.

On Monday, the Lady Jays won number eight by taking the Crest Lady Lancers, 25-18.

However, it wasn't the same Lancers team that the Jays had beaten on Oct. 29.

The Lancers had gone to school on the Jays in that first loss and led through most of the first half, holding the Jays to just one charity shot in the first period.

The Jays fought back, scoring eight unanswered points, and put themselves in a spot to take command in the second half.

Savannah Smith led the Jays with 13 points; Conner Marshall contributed six; Autumn Secrest netted six points also.

"I'm extremely proud of the girls," noted Stark. "They love to play defense and pressure the ball."

That was evident even in the seventh grade win against Crest prior to the eighth grade game.

Meranda Lowe played an ‘in-your-face' defense all the time she was on the court, as did the rest of the seventh grade squad.

The up tempo game of both squads was more than Crest could handle, even though Crest had a significant height advantage in both games.

The seventh grade Lady Blu-Jays sit at 3-6 heading into this Saturday's tournament at Iola.

The league tournament starts on Monday, Nov. 30, and runs through Thursday, Dec. 3, at Uniontown.