Central girls 26-0 after 76-65 win over Overton

Article from Commercial Appeal

Jasmine Carson

It didn't look like it would happen after the first eight minutes.

But as the closing seconds wound down in the Central girls' 76-65 Homecoming victory over Overton, the Warriors students raised a chant that could be heard around the state.

"26 and 0. Hey!"

It was a game worth shouting about.

Sophomore Jasmine Carson scored 28 points to lead Central, which is ranked second in the Dandy Dozen, third in the state and 23rd nationally according to MaxPreps. She knocked down five of her team's 11 3-pointers.

"I have to do anything I can to help my team be successful," Carson said. "Always. It was a fun game. We really felt the crowd and that made the game a lot more intense."

Overton — which has lost only twice all year, both times to Central — dominated the first quarter and led 15-4 early. But with Carson leading the way, the Warriors kept working.

"Early, we were getting shots, but we just weren't making them," said Central coach Rashad Haynes. "We had to make some adjustments, play better defense and create some steals."

Fueled by Jireh Washington, who scored all 13 of her points in the second half, Central built a five-point lead after three and quickly extended it to double digits once its transition game got rolling late.

UAB signee Miyah Barnes added 10 points for Central.

Kayla Williams, who will play college ball at Wichita State, connected on six 3-pointers and scored 21 points to lead Overton, which came in ranked third in the Dandy Dozen and 10th in the state. Rodrea Echols (Oklahoma State) added 18 with four 3-pointers as the teams combined for 23 baskets from behind the arc.

With three regular season games remaining, Central could still be undefeated by the time the postseason begins. Not that Haynes is concerned with that.

"I'm a day-to-day kind of guy," he said. "I don't look at rankings. ... We have our daily goals, and if we accomplish those goals we'll get the results."

IN OTHER GAMES

Northpoint's girls improved to 20-1 with a 50-29 victory over Division 2-A rival ECS. Lindsey Whiteside led the Trojans with 18 points and Ashtyn Baker added 14. ... St. Benedict got 21 points from Taylor Barnes and nine points and 12 rebounds from Nicole Ungaro in a 58-51 victory over Briarcrest. The Eagles are 17-4. ... Hamilton is 15-5 after defeating East, 50-41. Undrea Porter scored 15 and Tesia Thompson added 10.

Jayla Hemingway had 23 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and six steals as Houston (19-2) defeated archrival Collierville, 77-53. ... Arlington (18-6) downed Bartlett 53-42 behind 16 from Raegyn Branch and 14 from Tori Sewell.