BAKER — A fast start for the Baker School girls basketball team against Central on Monday didn’t lead to a strong finish.
The Gators scored the first six points of the game, but after that it was all Jaguars.
Haley Gauthier and Makayla Simmons each scored 22 points to lead Central to a 60-38 win.
Baker School-Central girls basketball photos>>>
“We just didn’t take care of the ball tonight,” Baker Coach Jamie Kerrell said. “We went into the half with 14 turnovers and it doesn’t matter if you are a NBA team or a YMCA team, 14 turnovers will kill anybody.
“I feel like at times we did a good job of taking care of the ball, but then we would turn around take a bad shot or make a bad decision and it would snowball from there.”
Baker (0-2) jumped in front on baskets by Haley Melanson, Amanda Parisi and Ashley Black.
The Jaguars finally got on the scoreboard when Simmons scored her first basket of the night with 5:05 left in the first quarter. Another score by Simmons followed by Alex Simmons` only basket of the game tied things up at 6-6 with 3:39 left in the first quarter.
A Parisi score with 1:53 left in the quarter gave the Gators what would be their last lead of the game.
Gauthier’s first basket of the game tied the game at 8-8 as the rest of the night belonged to Central.
A free throw by Makayla Simmons with 1:02 left in the first period put the Jaguars up once and for all. Central stretched the lead to 13-8 at the end of the first quarter and led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter.
But the Gators wouldn’t go away.
A 3-pointer by Parisi late in the second quarter trimmed the Central lead to 29-19.
Baker kept on battling with Melanson and Parisi keeping the Gators in the game. Baker narrowed the Jaguar lead to six points with 2:20 left in the third quarter, but that’s as close as the Gators would get as Central slowly pulled away with the impressive win.
Melanson led Baker in scoring with 17 points. Parisi scored 11.
Sarah Smith joined Makayla Simmons and Gauthier in double figures with 12 points.
The Jaguars are coached by former Gator star Chris Martello, the brother of Baker School Principal Mike Martello.
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Jaguars too strong for Gators (PHOTOS, VIDEO)