MADISON – The Lady Jets of James Clemens had plenty to be proud of on Friday night despite falling 32-31 in an epic road clash with rival Bob Jones.

“Anybody in here can probably tell you that is the best we have ever played and that is just from effort,” James Clemens head coach Monica Maxwell said.

“That is not from scoring the basketball or anything like that, that is a complete effort from the whole team.”

The girls in sky blue showed up on Friday ready to bring the fight to Bob Jones and the Lady Jets nearly pulled it off.

It would take a last-second putback under the basket by Lady Patriot Alana Obianozie who ended up with 14 in the game, to push the home team out front.

Bob Jones had chased James Clemens the entire game for what seemed like no avail until the final minutes of the contest.

The Lady Jets were bolstered by their bigger players, Jazmin Grigsby with eight points and Serenity Pride with six points, who controlled the paint and made life difficult for the Lady Patriots.

“In this situation, our bigs were better,” Maxwell said.

“They are more physical; they can finish around the rim. Grigsby, she can handle the ball like a guard. She can get into the post like a post player so we wanted to utilize that matchup so we could get some foul trouble going.”

Another player for James Clemens who shined in the narrow loss was the JC freshman Deyon Smith who finished with 10 points in the rivalry clash.

“That’s the best I’ve ever seen Deyon play,” Maxwell said.

“Deyon is probably one of the best guards in North Alabama right now and she is so passive that we have to beg her to be aggressive.”

There was even a sequence late in the game where Bob Jones’ Janiyah Bone dribbled down the court for what would have given the Lady Patriots a one-point edge.

As Bone left the court and jumped toward the hoop, the large crowd of Bob Jones and James Clemens fans roared at the game action with just 32.9 seconds on the clock.

But before all that could happen, Deyon Smith was right behind, and she denied Bone with a massive block that made the fans gasp and kept the game at 31-30 JC.

Bob Jones would go on to win the matchup, but James Clemens had so much to take from this game that will be helpful as the Lady Jets march toward the postseason.

For more on this game, including quotes from Bob Jones head coach Jazmine Carr, be sure to pick up a print copy of the Madison Record on Wednesday, January 17.