Stafford pours in 25 in Lady Jaguar loss

Decatur, GA.

Having two scorers over 20 points wasn’t enough for the Jaguars.

Sophomore guard Larissa Stafford poured in 25 points, and Ronita Garrett added 21, but Georgia Perimeter College couldn’t stop Middle Georgia College’s second-half rally in a 76-70 loss Wednesday at Decatur Campus.

The defeat drops the Jaguars to 5-5 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association, 10-10 overall. It sets them back in the competition with several teams for a home-court date in the first round of the conference playoffs Feb. 26.

Middle Georgia (11-4, 7-3) remains in fifth place in the league, while GPC slips into seventh. The top four teams will earn home-court advantage in the first round.

Garrett, the leading scorer in the GCAA and second-best rebounder, contributed 15 rebounds for GPC, another double-double for her.

But the Warriors had some key double-doubles of their own. Shanedra Lockett scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds, and J’ Una Rollins had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Brittany McKinney scored 12 points for the Jaguars. Stafford had seven assists, and Garrett had four.

GPC held a 39-31 advantage at halftime, but the Warriors ripped off 12 straight points after the break and dominated the final period, leading by as many as 10 points.

The Jaguars persisted and tied it 64-64 when Ashley Bacchus snagged a rebound, passed to Stafford and on the break scored with an assist from Stafford.

However, Lockett immediately answered with a baseline drive and spinning jumper, and the Warriors kept the lead.

Next the Jaguars travel to Andrew College Saturday and Central Georgia Tech the following Wednesday for GCAA games. The next home game is Feb. 6 versus Georgia Highlands College.