Senior and captain Mackenzie Reese dives on the floor, scrambling for the ball. McDonogh player Danielle Edwards reaches in as well. As the tugging and pulling continues, the whistle finally blows. Out of frustration, Edwards intentionally fouls Reese, giving Edwards a technical foul and JC a chance for two points.

As the game continued, this play was considered the highlight of the Feb. 12 playoff game against McDonogh, according to women’s varsity basketball coach Mike Blizzard. “This play showed the frustration they were having in the first half as we were going point for point with them,” Blizzard said.

The final score of the game was 45-30, McDonough’s win.

At the end of the first quarter, both teams came out hand and hand with McDonogh leading by one, 15-14.

At the start of the second quarter, JC began to come back strong and take the lead, but by the end of the half McDonogh took the lead, 26-23.

As the second half began, JC’s momentum seemed to be lost as McDonogh slowly gained a little over 10 points on JC ending the third quarter with a score of 39-28 McDonogh.

In the fourth quarter, JC scored only two points, with McDonough scoring an extra six points to finish the game with a final score of 45-30, McDonogh on top.

According to Blizzard, junior and captain Yemaya Johnson was a standout player and leading scorer of the game with a total of 12 points out of 30. “She was getting penetration and opening things up on the offensive end,” Blizzard said.

Although the game ended with a loss, the team still comes out of it with a positive attitude. “In the beginning of the season we lost to them by 42 points, and by the end we only lost to them by fifteen so we improved a lot,” Reese said.

“I am proud of how our team ended. With hard work and persistence, we were able to rise above the beginning of our season and finish strong, even if it was a loss,” Johnson said.

Haley Kyger is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.org.