Tulane signee Jerkaila Jordan erupted for 23 second-half points in Thursday night’s, 55-49, comeback win over Booker T. Washington on the road.JOHN CURTIS 55, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON 49 (*Video Coming Soon*)
at Booker T. Washington, Thursday (Feb. 13), Non-District
Records: John Curtis, 24-3; Booker T. Washington, 19-13
HOW THE GAME WAS WON: 3 KEY MOMENTS
- After trailing for all of the second and third quarters, John Curtis found its championship form to mount a big comeback against Booker T. Washington in a matchup between two of the metro area’s best teams. The Patriots entered the last eight minutes down, 39-33, but tied the score with 6:11 left after six straight points by Jerkaila Jordan, four of which came at the free throw line. The Lions were able to answer pushing their advantage back up to three on two different occasions, but their last lead came with 2:29 left after two free throws by Chynna Spears putting BTW ahead, 49-47. Jordan, however, soon answered with her only 3-pointer of the game, then converted a critical and-one with 37.9 seconds remaining to seal the win.
- BTW began to take control of the game late in the first quarter scoring 11 straight points that gave them a 25-14 with 5:15 to go in the second. Curtis answered scoring eight consecutive points of their own, but BTW was able to get the last bucket of the period to go into the half ahead 27-22.
- Booker T. looked like they had put themselves in good position to win the game after a midrange jumper by Kassie Dolliole and a layup from Aaliyah Spears off a sweet pass from MiKira Kirton gave them a 39-30 lead with 1:13 left in the third quarter. Jerkaila Jordan didn’t let the raucous crowd cheer for too long, though, getting an offensive putback for an and-one on the ensuing possession. It was the start of a 9-0 run for Jordan all by herself.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jerkaila Jordan, John Curtis
Arguably the state’s top player — and it may not be that arguable — was in rare form Thursday night at Booker T. in the second half. After going scoreless through the first two quarters, Tulane signee Jerkaila Jordan took over with 23 second-half points including the last 12 for the Patriots in a comeback win.
The 5-foot-8 guard also went on a 9-0 run over the third and fourth quarters that tied the score at 39-39 with 6:11 left in the game. She scored 18 of Curtis’ 22 points in the fourth-quarter and 23 of their 33 in the entire second half. Those 18 were also enough to outscore Booker T., 18-10, over the last eight minutes. Jordan also added seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals to her stat line for the night.
NOTABLE
- It was in many ways a playoff atmosphere Thursday night not only because of the high-level play on the court, but also thanks to the Booker T. boys basketball team. The group is an enthusiastic one to say the least cheering on their fellow student-athletes, and they truly add a different element and excitement to the gym giving their girls a boost.
- After a frustrating night for Booker T. on Tuesday falling to Ursuline, 57-46, in overtime after holding a 46-41 lead with 1:07 left, the Lions bounced back well. Coach Lakenya Reed employed her squad to play more a team game, and they responded with 15 assists including four on their first five field goals. Senior guard Kassie Dolliole went 7-of-14 from the field while scoring a team-high 15 points, and junior forward Aaliyah Spears finished with 14 points (12 in the first half) plus seven boards with three assists. Senior guard Ra’Nae Tumblin couldn’t get her shot to fall like normal, but still made an impact with eight points, four steals and a big block in the fourth quarter. Sophomore point guard Imani Rothschild dished out a game-high five assists with four steals, four rebounds and two points.
- Despite both teams struggling from the 3-point line with Curtis going 1-for-14 to BTW’s 2-for-16, both teams still shot a solid percentage at 45 and 42 percent. The Patriots were 22-of-49 from the field (60% on 2-pointers) while the Lions went 22-of-53 (54% on 2-pointers). Curtis was also 10-of-12 at the stripe to BTW’s 3-of-5.
- Curtis’ winning streak now stands at 12 dating back to a January 9, 56-18, district win over Chapelle. BTW has now lost two straight after a six-game winning streak.
- Curtis remains the top-ranked team in Division I in the LHSAA’s latest power rankings released on Tuesday (Feb. 11) while BTW is No. 3 in Class 3A.
QUOTES
***Coming soon from Curtis’ Jerkaila Jordan, Alexis Lavarine, coach Barbara Farris and BTW coach Lakenya Reed.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
John Curtis | 14 | 8 (22) | 11 (33) | 22 – 55
Booker T. Washington | 18 | 9 (27) | 12 (39) | 10 – 49
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
John Curtis: Jerkaila Jordan, 23; Jane Wright, 10; Alexis Lavarine, 6; Jania Holmes, 6; Terren Coffil, 6; Heaven Jordan, 4.
Booker T. Washington: Kassie Dolliole, 15; Aaliyah Spears, 14; Ra’Nae Tumblin, 8; Chynna Spears, 6; MiKira Kirton, 2; Imani Rothschild, 2; Sequira Williams, 2.
Up Next: John Curtis has one game remaining in the regular season hosting Ursuline Saturday at one p.m. BTW will await their playoff seeding and opponent with Thursday being their final regular season game.
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Josh Preston is the VSN Louisiana Catholic League/NOLA Executive Director and can be reached at josh@varsitysportsnow.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JPrestonSports.