John Curtis impresses in dominant victory over New Iberia

WESTWEGO, La. – One step further.

John Curtis Christian opened play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Classic girls competition in impressive fashion, drilling New Iberia 53-13 at the Alario Center Wednesday night in the opening round of the Platinum bracket.

The heavily favored Patriots, who played in the tournament Platinum championship game a year ago, jumped all over the Yellow Jackets early, forcing 11 first quarter turnovers. Curtis led 6-2 when they exploded for a 15-0 run to break the game wide open at 21-2 and never looked back. Da’jha Virgil knocked down a trio of 3-pointers for nine points in the quarter.

Curtis continued its dominance in the second quarter, opening the frame on a 14-0 run while holding New Iberia to just two points in the period to take a 40-7 lead at halftime. Jerkalia Jordan had 11 points and six rebounds in the half and for the game.

Curtis head coach Barbara Farris went to all reserves to start the second half, resting her starters the rest of the way.

The Patriots held the Yellow Jackets to just two points in the third quarter as they expanded the lead to 51-9 going to the final period.

The teams played with a running clock in the fourth period.

Virgil finished with 11 points while Tulane signee Dynah Jones had eight points, as did Lauren Hurst for John Curtis (13-1). Kourtney Wilson topped New Iberia (7-11) with five points. The Yellow Jackets finished with 24 turnovers, including 21 in the first half.

“It is what we have been focused on all season, our defensive intensity leading to offense,” Farris said. “We did a really good job early of taking them out of their offense, pressuring them the length of the court and getting our hands on balls. I was really pleased with our defensive effort in this game.

“We’re just starting to peak,” Farris said. “We are really firing on all cylinders. Everyone is contributing. We aren’t worried about one player not contributing with everyone stepping up. We could have been a bit slower with the Christmas holiday and being out of school but we played well.

“I did remind them that losing to eventual 5A state champion Destrehan in the title game of this tournament last year was one of the only blemishes on our record,” Farris said. “We haven’t won this tournament before. We definitely have a goal and we hope we play well enough to have a chance.”

Final
JC 24 16 11 2 53
NI 4 3 2 4 13

Scoring
JC—Jerkalia Jordan 11, Da’jha Virgil 11, Lauren Hurst 8, Dynah Jones 8, Maya Washington 5, Sydney Parfait 4, Salma Bates 2, Abryhia Irons 2,

NI—Kourtney Milson 5, Bailey Antoine 2, Ry’Nesha Walker 2, Davinique Hardin 2, Choicey Hill 2

Girls Basketball at Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic at Alario Center
Platinum Bracket
Loranger 48, Warren Easton 33
Kenwood (IL) 60, Salmen 47
John Curtis Christian 53, New Iberia 13
McKinley 43, Madison Prep 40

Gold Bracket
South Terrebonne 50, St. Thomas Aquinas 45
Cabrini 54, Hahnville 44
Thibodaux 66, Zachary 62
South Lafourche 90, Destrehan 16

Silver Bracket
Dominican 35, Helen Cox 32
Karr 44, West St. John 25
Ben Franklin 37, Cohen 30
Riverside 57, Christ Episcopal 29
East Jefferson 41, Archbishop Chapelle 37
Terrebonne 49, Higgins 26
Walker 49, St. Katharine Drexel 30
Mount Carmel 66, M.L. King Charter 33

Quarterfinals

Sophie B. Wright vs. Lincoln (NY), 4 p.m. on Main Court

Landry-Walker vs. Osceola (FL), 5:30 p.m.

Riverside vs. University High, 7 p.m. on Main Court

Helen Cox vs. Scotlandville, 8:30 p.m. on Main Court

Consolations

Karr vs. Madison Prep, 4 p.m. on Red Court

Archbishop Hannan vs. Jehovah-Jireh, 8:30 p.m. on Red Court

Covington vs. Dunham, 8:30 p.m. on Blue Court

Country Day vs. West Jefferson, 4 p.m. on Blue Court