High school basketball: Jersey Village girls top Cy
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Jersey Village guard Ja'Nya Thomas (11) sinks a layup for two of her game-high 24 points in the Lady Falcons' victory over Cy Fair on Tuesday night.
Jersey's Village's Ja’Nya Thomas took a deep breath when she went to the free-throw line Tuesday night.
The Lady Falcons had a three-point lead over Cy-Fair with 58 seconds left in a District 17-6A game. The senior guard took her time and made both free throws, part of her game-high 24 points as Jersey Village won 57-48 at the Bobcats' gym.
"When games are this close, you have to knock down your free throws," Thomas said after the win. "We have to stay all together in games like this and keep our composure. We did that and got the win."
This was a rematch of a play-in game last season in which Cy-Fair ended Jersey Village's year and went into the playoffs as the fourth seed for the district.
For Thomas, it was great to get some revenge, but the Lady Falcons are focusing on the bigger picture, looking to make the playoffs and a deep postseason run.
"Before we played, I thought this was personal for me," said Thomas, who made all seven of her free throws. "Last year we should have made it to the playoffs. This whole year is personal for me and my teammates. We are hungry and want to get back in the playoffs."
Jersey Village (8-7, 2-0) could do no wrong in the first half and led Cy-Fair (8-9, 1-1) by as many as 18 points.
Junior guard Jayla Lewis scored 10 of her 18 points in the first quarter, and Thomas added seven for Jersey Village.
The Lady Falcons made five of their seven 3-pointers in the first half and led the Lady Bobcats 36-21 at halftime.
"I think that we settled," said Cy-Fair coach Ann Roubique. "In the first half, we didn't have a lot of things going our way. Jersey Village had a lot to do with that. They came out ready to go and were on fire. We definitely had some ill-advised turnovers and ill-advised shots. We took some shots that weren't necessarily good looks. I don't think we played as well as a team in the first half."
Cy-Fair responded in the third quarter by outscoring Jersey Village 15-6. Viviyn Mcleod came off the bench to score six of her 11 points for the Lady Bobcats.
Macy Eaken knocked down a 3-pointer to end the third quarter for Cy Fair, but Jersey Village led 42-36 entering the fourth.
"The second half was more team basketball," Roubique said. "Every person on the floor was trying to score versus putting it all on someone's shoulders. I think that was the difference in the second half for us."
Anna Farrell, who led Cy-Fair with 18 points, started the fourth quarter with back-to-back layups to cut Jersey Village's lead to two, 42-40, prompting Lady Falcons coach Patricia Lewandowski to call a timeout.
"We lost our composure," Lewandowski said. "We were missing shots, and we were fatigued. Then turnovers and giving them a chance to score as well. We just had to regroup in the fourth quarter."
Jersey Village ended the fourth on a 15-8 run to secure the victory.
"We have played a tough nondistrict schedule dealing with adversity," Lewandowski said. "We’re figuring out how to control our emotions and just get to the next play. We learned a lot last year because we were a young team. Understanding from last year to this year, we’re a much mature team. It feels great to get the win, but there's a long way to go."