JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — Junction City split Tuesday night's pair of contests with Centennial League rival Topeka West. The Lady Jays defeated the Lady Chargers 45-35 while the Blue Jays fell to Topeka West 56-54.
First, in the ladies' contest, Junction City would race out to a 20-10 advantage after the first quarter, but offensive struggles would allow the Lady Chargers to whittle away at the lead.
In the second half, JC's attack would be lead primarily by Senior Lucy Rivera, who ended the contest with 19 points. Rivera shot 12/16 at the free throw line, helping to boost the otherwise stagnant Blue Jay offense.
Junction City would out-pace Topeka West 12-6 in the fourth quarter on their way to the Lady Jays' first back-to-back wins since 2018.
The 45-35 victory improves the JCHS record to 4-8 on the year. The Lady Jays will have a week off before hosting Topeka Seaman on February 2nd at 6 p.m..
TOPEKA WEST - 10 / 6 / 13 / 6 - 35 (2-9)
JUNCTION CITY - 20 / 3 / 10 / 12 - 45 (4-8)
JC SCORING LEADERS: Lucy Rivera 19, Mellana Davis 18
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In the boy's contest, Topeka West jumped out to an early lead, but the Blue Jays would weather the storm. Two separate times Topeka West would claim a lead of eight or more in the first half, but at the break, Junction City would lead 34-33.
Chris Dixon would lead the Blue Jays in scoring with 17, including three three-pointers, but Dixon wasn't the only Jay to knock down an outside shot.
Seth Clark added in three more from the outside, and 11 points overall, a season high for him. Terrence Tedder would also add 16 points to the mix, including one shot from the outside as well.
Topeka West would have the last laugh, as a pair of free throws would put the Chargers in front in the final minute, and two JC attempts to steal the win fell short.
#6 ranked in 5A Topeka West escaped with the 56-54 win inside Shenk Gym. The Blue Jays fell to 5-5 on the season.
Junction City will next host Topeka High on Thursday night.
TOPEKA WEST - 22 / 11 / 11 / 12 - 56 (9-2)
JUNCTION CITY - 18 / 16 / 10 / 10 - 54 (5-5)
JC SCORING LEADERS: Chris Dixon 17, Terrence Tedder 16, Seth Clark 11