Preview: Jay Royals vs. Central Jaguars
Jay and Central are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. The Jay Royals will square off against the Central Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Jay is coming into the game hot, having won their last three games.
Jay had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They snuck past Freeport with a 61-57 victory on Wednesday. Given Jay's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 93rd, while Freeport is ranked 236th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Paxton typically has all the answers at home, but on Wednesday Central proved too difficult a challenge. They managed a 51-47 victory over the Bobcats. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Central.
Lakin Mathews was her usual excellent self, scoring 32 points along with five steals. Another player making a difference was Lily Mathews, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Jay has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season. As for Central, their victory bumped their record up to 15-10.
Jay came up short against Central when the teams last played two weeks ago, falling 62-52. Can Jay avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
