Germantown overcomes slow start, hold off John Curtis late, 52-48

WESTWEGO – New Orleans native Sherri Retif is back in town for the annual Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic and hoping for her happiest homecoming yet. It may just happen.

Retif’s Germantown Patriots built a large lead and then held off a furious last quarter rally by John Curtis Christian to edge the hometown Patriots 52-48 in the semifinals of the girls Platinum Bracket of the tournament Friday afternoon at the Alario Center.

The visiting Patriots fell way behind and dominated for nearly three quarters before staving off a late rally by John Curtis, the defending Division I state champion and defending Sugar Bowl Tournament champion, for the win.

Curtis came out strong, scoring the first 12 points of the game as Germantown struggled to take care of the basketball, committing six turnovers in the quarter. Jerkaila Jordan scored seven points as John Curtis took an 18-4 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Patriots were held without a basket in the second quarter as Germantown outscored Curtis 16-5 in the period. Germantown forced six turnovers in the quarter with pressure to draw closer at 23-20 by halftime.

Germantown took over in the second half, going on runs of 5-0 and 7-0 in the third quarter to take a 40-32 by the end of the period as Elle Stauffer scored nine points in the frame.

The visitors seemed in total control, up 50-36 with three minutes left but Curtis came storming back to close the deficit to two points at 50-48 behind Jerkaila Jordan, who scored a game-high 25 points, but Stauffer hit a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds left to ice the game.

Germantown head coach Sherri Retif, a former Ursuline head coach and Tulane basketball player and Tulane athletics Hall of Fame inductee and New Orleans native,

“They came out and I think they hit the first five shots, the first three 3’s they took from players that when we scouted them didn’t take many shots,” Retif said. “It caught us a little bit by surprise but I think the kids showed character and knew they had to battle back.”

After the slow start, Germantown went to pressuring John Curtis and the pressure with its extended defense paid huge dividends.

“We told our players we had to pressure them and not let them set up in their half-court sets,” Retif said. “They are so athletic and a couple of their kids can really get to the goal well so we figured if we kept the ball out of their hands, it would help us defensively to get us going offensively.”

Stauffer led Germantown (12-0) with 17 points and four rebounds while Rachel Balzer had 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Jordan added five rebounds, four assists and two blocks for Curtis while Maya Washington had nine points and Abryhia Irons finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.

What does it feel like for Retif to be in the title game in her home town?

“Unbelievable,” Retif said. “We’ve been playing in the event for a few years now. It’s nice to be in the championship game.”

Final
John Curtis 18 5 9 16 48
Germantown 4 16 20 12 52

Scoring
JC
Jerkaila Jordan 25, Maya Washington 9, Abryhia Irons 7, Diamond Smith 4, Jordan Barfield 3

Germantown
Elle Stauffer 17, Rachel Balzer 14, Becca Booth 7, Maddie Vizza 6, Jaye Haynes 4, Sarah Dilello 2, Maddie Burns 2

Rebounds
JC 23, Germantown 21

Turnovers
JC 14, Germantown 17