By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

It was more of the same for Troup’s Jarrious Jefferson.

Jefferson, Troup’s outstanding senior point guard, scored 23 points in Tuesday’s 75-63 victory over Kendrick.

In Troup’s five games, Jefferson has scored at least 20 points, and he has 86 points in his past three games combined.

Jefferson had 23 points in Troup’s opener against Spalding County, and he had 16 points against East Coweta.

In a win over Newnan, Jefferson went off for 37 points, and head coach Blake Craft said everything he did was within the scope of the offense.

“He probably took three bad shots,” Craft said after that game. “The majority of them were shots we want him to take.”

Jefferson kept it going with 27 points against Kendrick on Friday, and he had 23 points in the rematch on Tuesday.

Jefferson is averaging 25 points per game, and he is also doing a nice job of distributing the ball to his teammates.

Another standout in Tuesday’s win over Kendrick was senior Tristan Ware.

Ware, a 6-foot-4 forward, had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Two Troup players who have recently made the transition from football to basketball, Kobe Hudson and Montez Crowe, were also in double digits in scoring against Kendrick.

Hudson had 12 points and four assists, and Crowe scored 11 points and helped control things inside.

Craft said Hudson, Crowe and the other players who have come from the football team are still in a transition stage.

“We’re still trying to get them in basketball shape,” Craft said. “We’re still nowhere near to 100 percent.”

BALANCED SCORING: For the Troup Lady Tigers, who are off to a 3-2 start, it’s been all about offensive balance so far.

Last season, Troup had a handful of players who were capable of scoring 20 points on a given night.

Those players either graduated, are injured, or are not on the team for other reasons.

The Lady Tigers are still finding ways to get it done offensively, they’re just doing it in a different way.

In Tuesday’s 45-35 win over Kendrick, no one player had more than 12 points, but five players scored at least six points.

Troup head coach Carla Thornton’s message to her players is “it’s a team game.”

“We’ve never relied on just one person,” Thornton added. “One goes down, somebody else has to step up.”

Against Kendrick on Tuesday, Aundracia Riggins led the way with 12 points, and Kiya Fulton scored 10 points.

Jedda Madden scored eight points, Jada Green had seven points, and Tashauna Askew scored six points.

In Friday’s game against Kendrick, it was Madden and Green leading the way with 10 points apiece, and Valerie Smith scored seven points.

Against Newnan, Green scored 13 points and Madden had nine points.

In a game versus East Coweta, Riggins had 11 points, Madden scored nine points, and Fulton and Green had eight points apiece.

In the opener against Spalding County, Green had a team-high nine points, and Fulton scored eight points.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: On an inexperienced team, LaGrange head coach Mark Veal knew how important seniors Bo Russell and Daz Williams were going to be.

They were the returning players with the most experience, and Veal was counting on them to not only be team leaders, but to lead the way in scoring as well.

So far, so good.

Through four games, Russell and Williams are combining to score nearly 40 points per game for the 2-2 Grangers.

Russell, one of LaGrange’s top players last season, is averaging 22.5 points per game, and he is coming off a 31-point effort in Tuesday’s road win over Harris County.

Williams is scoring 16.75 points per game, and he has been LaGrange’s best 3-pointer shooter.

Against Harris County, Williams made four 3-pointers, including one that tied the game late in regulation to force overtime.

In LaGrange’s opener against Newnan, Williams led the Grangers with 19 points, and Russell scored 16 points.

Against Northside, Russell had a team-best 17 points, and Williams had 14 points.

In a rematch against Northside, Russell had 26 points to lead LaGrange to an 84-80 overtime win.

In another overtime win, this one against Harris County, Russell went off for 31 points, and Williams had 17 points.

In his past two games, Russell is averaging 28.5 points.

“Bo, he just plays so hard, and has such a knack for the basketball, and does such a good job finishing around the rim,” LaGrange head coach Mark Veal said.

No player on the team has seen his role change as much as Williams.

He has gone from being a complimentary player to someone who needs to be a leading scorer each game.

“That young man, he’s waited his turn,” Veal said. “His sophomore year he sat the bench with us. Last year he was a role guy. He waited his turn, and it’s his time to produce, and he’s done great for us. I’m proud of him. He’s stuck it out to his senior year, and he’s done a good job.”

GETTING IT DONE: There has been one constant for the LaGrange Lady Grangers this season, and that has been Aryan Dozier’s ability to put up big numbers on offense.

Dozier, a senior guard, has scored at least 16 points in all five games this season, and she has 79 points in her past three games.

Dozier’s best game came in a 78-44 road win over Northside when she scored 36 points.

She followed that up with a 23-point effort in Tuesday’s loss to Harris County, and she scored 20 points in a home win over Northside last week.

Dozier scored 16 points in the opener against Newnan, and she notched 17 points against Morgan County.

Dozier is averaging 22.4 points per game.

FAST START: Callaway girls’ coach Deyano Martin knows how important Chyna Cameron will be to the team this season.

Cameron, a senior, is a four-year starter, and she has at times been a dominant post player.

In the opener against Whitewater last week, Cameron showed how effective she can be when she led the team with 21 points in a 61-56 victory.

Cameron scored nine of those points in the third period to help Callaway build a comfortable lead.

Haley Holliday gives Callaway another formidable inside presence, and she scored 15 points in the opener.

Holliday showed off her shooting touch by making two 3-pointers, both in the first quarter.

Another key Lady Cavalier, guard Qua Beasley, scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers in the opener.

Cameron, Holliday and Beasley are Callaway’s top returning players, and having them combined for 52 points in the opener was a good sign.