On Monday night in Blackville, the Jefferson Davis Academy girls varsity basketball team overcame first-game jitters by applying an aggressive defense in a 56-18 rout of Orangeburg Christian Academy.
The Lady Raiders took control of the game in the opening eight minutes when they broke away for a 16-0 advantage. Defensively, the Lady Raiders held the Lady Patriots to three of 21 shooting from the field in the first half.
JDA head coach Curt Ott said he was happy to come away with an impressive win in his debut.
“We played better than I expected tonight,” Ott said. “Offensively, we crashed the boards and created a lot of scoring opportunities in the paint. Defensively, we rebounded well and limited them to one shot opportunities.”
Offensively, the Lady Raiders had a balanced attack with nine players scoring. The backcourt, however, did most of the damage as senior Katie Baltzegar and junior Presley Rutland accounted for 25 points, 17 steals and 16 assists.
Baltzegar led the team with 13 points, 10 assists and six steals while Presley added 12 points, six assists and 11 steals.
“We just came out and played good defense and forced turnovers. Offensively, we showed a lot of  patience and took good shots,” said Baltzegar.
“We put pressure on the ball and boxed out well in the paint,” Rutland said. “Overall I thought everyone played well. It was a good team victory.”
Also playing well for the Lady Raiders included Katelyn Bell with eight points and 10 rebounds. Haley Eidson finished with six points and seven rebounds. Rachel Brown had a good all-around game with six points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Madison Bates, Darcey Holiday and Anna Griffin each scored two points.
“It’s always exciting to get the first win. The girls played with a lot of energy tonight. Hopefully we can continue to play at this high level,” said Ott.