Despite a phenomenal run in the regular season, Jacksonville couldn't carry that success into this playoff game. They took a 69-53 bruising from the Rocky Mount Gryphons on Friday. The Cardinals were down 57-35 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Kelize Velez-Galan
| 02/28/25 @ Rocky Mount | 26 |
| 02/25/25 vs E.E. Smith | 27 |
| 02/17/25 vs J.H. Rose | 20 |
| 02/14/25 vs Northside - Jacksonville | 26 |
| 02/12/25 @ J.H. Rose | 19 |
| 02/11/25 vs South Central | 20 |
When it comes to explaining why Jacksonville lost, don't look at Kelize Velez-Galan. Despite the final result, she posted 26 points in addition to six boards and five steals. Velez-Galan's big performance that evening made it six games in a row in which she has scored at least 19 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Destini Benton, who put up five points and four steals.
Even though they lost, Jacksonville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 14 consecutive matchups.
It was another big night for Kira Jones, who went 10-for-12 on her way to 34 points for Rocky Mount. That makes it three consecutive games in which Jones has scored at least a third of Rocky Mount's points. Another player making a difference was McKinley Battle, who shot 50% from the field en route to 17 points.
Jacksonville moved to 18-7 with that loss, which also ended their four-game winning streak. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.3 points over those games. As for Rocky Mount, the win was the 18th in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 22-1.
Jacksonville does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Rocky Mount, they will host Union Pines at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Rocky Mount is on a nine-game streak of home wins, Union Pines a 12-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
