By REED DESALVO

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Jackson Academy entered Thursday’s game against Adams County Christian School riding a 20-game winning streak.

The Lady Raiders improved their streak to 21 games.

Lauran Sheriff scored 14 and Deja Bradford scored 13 to help JA earn a hard-fought 50-41 road win over a strong ACCS squad in girls basketball action.

Mackenzie Boyd led the Lady Rebels with eight points and Caitlyn Gamberi had seven.

“I’m proud of my girls,” ACCS coach Melanie Hall.

“Anytime you get to play the No. 1 team in MAIS AAAA is awesome; you have nothing to lose … Basketball is so mental; you have to execute on both sides of the ball and not make mistakes. All the little things you have to take care of.”

It took the Lady Rebels half the first period to record their first basket, but they executed much crisper from that point.

“I thought our offensive execution was much better,” Hall said. “We went to our 4-out, 1-in offense to try to slow them down, be patient and take high-quality shots.”

Jackson Academy led at the end of the first half, 25-18, and at the end of third, 42-35.

The Lady Rebels managed to cut the deficit to five on multiple occasions in the fourth, but that’s as close as they would come.

“The game was closer than what the score indicated,” Hall said. “We were right there in the ballgame. I thought our decision making both offensively and defensively was a lot better.”

ACCS will wrap up its regular season today at Bowling Green before hosting the district tournament next week.

“We have to keep improving,” Hall said. “I thought we played with a lot of heart and a lot of intensity, and I expect our kids to (keep improving).”

Jackson Academy (boys) 66, ACCS 42

A 17-4 spurt at the start of the second half for Jackson Academy turned a close game into a one-sided contest.

Heading into the third period, JA held a slim 28-26 lead over ACCS. But by the time the quarter had ended, the Raiders had seized control, and led 49-32 heading to the final period.

“We got stagnant on offense and stopped moving the ball,” ACCS coach Richy Spears said. “Now, a lot of that had to do with them — they stepped up their defense, and did their best to try to take Devin (Spear) out and stop us from doing what we do.”

Defensively, the Rebels had their hands full in trying to slow down 6-foot-8 Michael Barber, but the rangy gave the Rebels fits all night long. The sophomore big man scored 21 points, including 14 in the second half, and managed to throw down a pair of rim-rattling dunks in the process.

“It’s big when you’re biggest player is 6-foot-1, and he’s 6-foot-8,” Spears said. “I knew we had to front him, and when he was able to seal he us, he made us pay.”

Spear led ACCS with 15 points, while Andrew Ratcliff scored 15.

“We played hard, and I thought we hustled the whole game,” Spears said. “We have to do a better job of boxing out, but I think we were so concentrated on (Barber) that we forgot about everybody else … In the first half, we did some good things. In the second half, we did some bad things.”