After more than three weeks of playing on the road, the Lady Jays returned to their home court in a rematch against Royal Valley on Friday, Feb. 3. The Bluejays won in the first meeting back in week two, and they would outscore the Panthers in three of the four quarters to double-down in the win column, defeating their guests 53-46.

“Mikenna Haverkamp and Alexia Hayden got us going early on the offensive end, and Mary Lukert had another great game with 27 points to be able to keep them at arms-length,” said Head Coach Nate Bauman.

Hayden had a trey and a bucket for 5 points in the first quarter, Lukert had 4 points on two goals, and Haverkamp had a bucket and a pair of free throws for 4 points. Sabetha held a modest lead at the end of the first by a score of 13-10.

Sabetha extend their lead in the second quarter when they outscored the Panthers, 15-12. Lukert dropped two triples and had 11 points in the period to lead her team. Seniors Halle Scoby and Jessica Gruber kicked in a bucket each, and the Lady Jays led 28-22 at the intermission.

Royal Valley put some added pressure on the Bluejays to start the second half and outscored their hosts, 13-12. Hayden hit two huge treys in the third quarter for 6 points, and Lukert had 5 points on a trey and a two-pointer. Sabetha held a 5-point lead headed into the fourth quarter.

“I felt like we were about to pull away from Royal Valley several times during the game, but to their credit, they continued to fight back,” Coach Bauman said.

The Panthers were forced to foul in the final period in order to try and close the gap and challenge for the lead. Sabetha went to the line on 14 occasions, and they made good on nine of those attempts to help hold off Royal Valley’s late push. Lukert added 7 points to her personal tally to finish with 27 points for the night. Gruber had three and Hayden had a pair of free throws. Sabetha took the win to get the regular season sweep of the Panthers by a score of 53-45.

“It was another good, hard-fought win for us,” Coach Bauman said. “As I’ve said before, every win in the Big Seven is a good one and is difficult to get. I love the way our team seemed to respond every time Royal Valley made a run.”

“We are excited about the opportunities we have ahead of us still, starting with our game at a great Nemaha Central team,” Coach Bauman said.

The Lady Jays improved to 9-6 overall and 6-3 in the Big Seven to put them in third place in the league. Sabetha faced off with league leading Nemaha Central on the road Tuesday, Feb. 7. The results of this game were not available at The Herald’s press time. The Jays will play host to Jeff West on Friday, Feb. 10.