FERRIDAY, La. &045; Now in her second year in the role of team leader, Jameca Garrison is beginning to realize it takes more than leading her team in scoring every night.

Way, way more.

As the lone remaining starter from that solid team from two years ago, Garrison is the main cog on the Ferriday Lady Trojans’ wheel again this season. But like the role of Monique Jones during that 2002-03 season, Garrison is finding out just how far her role stretches.

Even off the floor. She had to come to her teammates’ aid Tuesday night in a 65-41 win over Tallulah when the she went to the bench with the game all but decided.

&uot;Coach is trying to get me to that stage &045; talk to my teammates when they’re down &045; and showing me what it takes to be a leader on and off the court,&uot; said Garrison, who finished with 28 points. &uot;It’s easier. That (fourth quarter) was the first time getting on the floor. They’re trying to do better. I was coaching them out there, doing a little coaching on the bench.&uot;

The whole scenario is two fold for a team that’s relied heavily on the junior star. At times so far this season teams have made it a point to double-team Garrison or at least do whatever it takes to shut her down.

Tallulah didn’t fare as well Tuesday, but the Lady Trojans (8-2) struggled in the fourth quarter when Garrison left the floor. The Tallulah Lady Trojans put up a 10-2 run in the fourth before Garrison got back into the game, but fortunately for Ferriday it came when the score was well in its favor at 51-18.

&uot;I’ve been trying to tell them they can’t totally depend on her,&uot; Ferriday head coach Lisa Abron said. &uot;We’ve had teams double team her. In practice we always pretend Jameca is being double already. I have a lot of first-year players. I have to keep reminding myself what I’ve got.

&uot;It’s something we’ve got to keep working at. It’s more confidence than it is anything. A lot of them don’t have a lot of confidence, and that’s something I can’t teach them. That has to come out for themselves.&uot;

Against Tallulah, that wasn’t much of a problem early thanks to some solid post play from Tiffany Chatman, but that slowed in the second half when things starting going a little awry. Garrison accounted for nine of her team’s 13 points in the third quarter, but things started getting ragged a bit with turnovers and missed shots on both ends.

Then in the fourth quarter Tallulah made that run with Shaquita Drake finishing it off at the 5:04 mark to trim the lead to 53-28, but Garrison returned and put in a layup less than a minute later to end the run.

&uot;I know we had like 20-something turnovers,&uot; Abron said. &uot;We’ve got to do better than that. District is coming around. We’ve got to cut down our turnovers and mistakes. We looked terrible tonight. Hopefully we can get back in the gym tomorrow and work on all of our mistakes.&uot;

Fortunately Garrison and the rest of the FHS Lady Trojans picked it back up from there on out to get the win. Garrison hit 3-pointer at the 2:34 mark that put the lead at 60-33, and Chatman knocked down two shots to get back on track a bit offensively.

The third quarter was much better, thanks to a 12-0 run to start the quarter. After Ferriday led 37-15 at half, Garrison hit a 3-pointer at the 2:09 mark for a 49-15 lead. Tallulah got on the board when Drake knocked down a shot at the 1:50 mark.

&uot;We had to get through making the mistakes to put the game away because we were kind of sluggish,&uot; Garrison said. &uot;I think we could have played better. We have to execute the offense and get back on defense on the fast break. We did kind of bad on that in the second half. We’ll have to pick our game up if we want to get into the playoffs.&uot;

Chatman had the solid first half under the basket, and she did most of it alone with Briana Foster out with a knee injury. Chatman scored eight of her 17 points in the second quarter, including the final four points of the quarter to help Ferriday take a 37-15 lead at halftime.

Foster, who went by Briana Neal last season, is awaiting results from a MRI to determine the severity of her injury.

&uot;She (Chatman) is coming around,&uot; Abron said. &uot;She’s only a 10th-grader, and we’ve been working on post moves with her. It’s just a matter of time. She’s going to make a lot of mistakes, but we’re going to keep practicing. The more we play, the better she’ll get.&uot;

Jashula Cole led Tallulah with 14 points.