The Pace Patriots waltzed into their game on Tuesday with three straight wins but they left with four. They enjoyed a cozy 61-46 victory over Jay. This was payback for Pace, who suffered a 45-32 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Pace was led to victory by Alyssa Clark and Aisley Shields. Clark scored 16 points along with five steals, while Shields scored 26 points along with nine rebounds and four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Shields has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Emily Neal, who scored eight points.
Jay's loss came despite strong showings from Presley Hawthorne and Aubreigh Nelson. Hawthorne scored 11 points along with three steals, while Nelson scored 12 points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Georgia Lewis, who scored five points.
Jay struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Pace's victory bumped their record up to 14-3. As for Jay, their defeat ended a nine-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 13-3.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Pace and Niceville will face off at 6:30 p.m. on January 18th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Niceville is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road. As for Jay, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Freeport at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Freeport will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 261st, while Jay is ranked 77th).
