The Junction City Blue Jays and Lady Jays turned in good efforts on defense enroute to season opening wins over Dodge City Friday night at Shenk Gym.

In the girls game Junction City jumped out to an 11-point first half lead and then held off a Red Demon rally in the the fourth quarter which brought Dodge City back to within one point at 44-43.  Junction City tacked on two more points and Dodge City was unable to get a final shot off in the last eight seconds of the ballgame as the Lady Jays picked up the victory.

For Junction City, who went 3-18 last season, this was a big win. Blue Jay coach Derek Petty said it felt good to get the win. “I feel so good for the girls. They put in the work to get to this point and I’m so proud of them. They did a great job hanging in there through adversity.”

The Lady Jays were led in scoring by Alana Kramer with 12 points and Da’shawn Battiste with 10 points.

—

In the boys varsity contest Junction City by six points early in the first quarter but then surged ahead to take the lead. They pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 48-32.

It was the first win for the Blue Jays and the first for head coach Nate Schmitt after taking over the Blue Jay program. “It’s definitely special. It wasn’t pretty but that may be the way they go for awhile until we figure exactly how it is we want to play. Me inside I’m happy for the boys that they got their first win.”

Lonnie Autry and AJ Range both had 12 points for Junction City, while AJ Dickerson scored 11 points. Strong defense and rebounding helped carry the Blue Jays to the win.