By Tony Burns
Sports Editor
Junction City made quick work of its first round opponent on Tuesday. The Lady Dragons don’t expect tonight’s second round Class 2A State Tournament match-up to be as easy.
Junction City plays Riverside today at 4 p.m.
Riverside beat Lavaca 37-20 on Thursday.
The Lady Dragons (19-4) opened tournament play with a 64-22 win over England. Junction City jumped out to a 17-4 lead after one quarter and was up 39-8 at halftime.
“I thought we played very well, probably played the best we’ve played all year,” said Junction City coach Henry Harrell. “We came out early and got on ‘em early. They missed some easy shots and we made some easy shots. Once we got it going, we kind of kept it going.
“We knew they liked to shoot the three. We played out on the 3-point line and they didn’t knock ‘em down so that helped. They had a terrible shooting night.”
Bryanna Raye scored 26 points for the Lady Dragons with Keyanna Ross adding 16, Jada Archie 12 and Taykeetria Rogers eight.
“It was a team win,” Harrell said. “I thought Bryanna Raye got us going with her speed. She had a few steals and got it going.
“Jada hit a couple outside shots and played very well inside for us. And then Rogers was steady Rogers. As a team, we played well as a team. It was a team effort, a team win.”
Lavaca and Riverside played Thursday at 1 p.m. It’s a quick turnaround for the winner but it’s also difficult for Junction City, which gets very little time to prepare.
“It’s kind of tough because you get a scouting report but you can’t really prepare because you’ve had practice that day. You just have the one day to try and put everything in,” said Harrell.
“But, more than likely, we’ll try to stick with what we do best and go from there. I do know one of the teams like to shoot threes and they shoot it very well. We’ll have our hands full. But, we have an opportunity and that’s all you can ask for is an opportunity.”
Junction City’s 2A South Region went 3-1 in the first round in girls. Murfreesboro beat Bigelow 51-47. Spring Hill topped Poyen 44-40. The lone loss was fourth-seeded Cossatot River falling to No. 1 seed Quitman 39-34.