Lady Eagles fly right by Indians in RCT

Photo by Teri Bockstahler Barker

Milan’s Audrey Schmidt looks to put up a shot in the post on Jac-Cen-Del’s Anna Hubbard on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Ripley County Tournament. Schmidt finished with 12 points while Hubbard’s efforts on defense helped the Lady Eagles throughout the evening.

Class A No. 4 Jac-Cen-Del built up an early double figure lead and the two-time defending county champion Lady Eagles played the part of favorite on Tuesday night, defeating host Milan 75-35 in the opening round of the Ripley County Girls Basketball Tournament.
The Lady Eagles punch their ticket to a third-straight championship game appearance and win their 10th game out of their last 11 this season.
Behind eight first quarter points from senior Paige Ledford, Jac-Cen-Del got off to a hot start, leading 22-6 after eight minutes and then used a 13-3 run in the second frame for a 35-9 lead at halftime. Milan was able to put together 18 points in the third period only to be met by 26 more points by the Lady Eagles before Jac-Cen-Del’s full assault was complete with a 13-8 run in the final quarter.
Playing its full roster, Jac-Cen-Del put 12 players in the score column for the tournament opener and it was Annabelle Williams leading all scorers with 17 points. Reagan Hughes scored 12 points and Ledford added 11 points in the win.
Rachel Holt paced Milan with 14 points and Audrey Schmidt added 12 points for the Lady Indians.
Jac-Cen-Del (12-3) looks for its third-straight county championship on Friday night when they play South Ripley in the title game at Milan. It will be the first meeting between the two county rivals this year.
Milan (0-9) meets Batesville for the only time this year in the consolation game on Friday.