The J.Z. George girls basketball team honored a former teammate last Tuesday as Makylah Banks’ jersey was retired before the start of the game against McAdams.
Banks, 16, a rising junior from Coila who was also on the track team, died in a two-vehicle collision on U.S. 82 in July.
The Lady Jags dropped a 34-28 decision to McAdams to start their season.
In last week’s game, Dakiya Robinson led J.Z. George with eight points, five rebounds and five steals, and Leah Franklin had seven points, four boards and two blocked shots. Kiyunna Ward had five points and three rebounds, and Ty Meeks had three points, six boards and five steals.
“I was very pleased with how the girls played,” said first-year coach Jaquell Davis. “We started fast, as we intended to do; now we have to finish to close out games.”
The Lady Jaguars played Calhoun City Saturday in the one-day tournament at Calhoun City. J.Z. George fell 38-22 as Calhoun led 9-6 after one, 22-9 at the half and 36-13 after the third period.
Ward had five points, five rebounds and two steals, and Kyndale Edwards had five points, three rebounds and three steals. Robinson tacked on four points, four rebounds and two steals.
The boys team played McAdams last week and posted a 55-46 win as they played with only eight players. Several were still on the football team. They led 19-13 after the first frame, 33-23 at the half and 48-35 after the third quarter.
“It was a really high-level effort,” said J.Z. George first-year coach Walker Bailey. “Our execution still isn’t very good right now, but we dominated with effort on defense, and we were plus-10 on the glass. Those are controllable things, and we maximized our effort in those areas.”
Kanye Weaver led the way with 17 points and 17 rebounds, and Jonkevion Green had 14 points and four steals. Nick Lacey tallied 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
J.Z. George, which played host to Riverside Tuesday, visits Winona Thursday.
