LOGANVILLE, Ga. — A dominant performance from Loganville’s Jadeah Marshall resulted in a 48-59 loss for the Eastside Lady Eagles despite a late surge.
Eastside entered last Saturday’s matchup on the back of consecutive wins over Heritage(62-52) and Social Circle(38-27).
However, Marshall posed a different threat as the 6-foot-4 center towered over the Lady Eagles and used her height to her advantage all afternoon.
Game Action
A trio of missed shots kicked off the action, but a made three-pointer from Emma Evans put Loganville ahead with the game’s first points.
Eastside quickly responded and eventually tied the game at 5-5, but the Lady Red Devils began to pull away as the game progressed.
It did not take long for Marshall to assert her presence as both of her first two shots came after she grabbed an offensive rebound.
Marshall converted a three-point play and added a late lay-in to put Loganville ahead 17-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Just as she did near the end of the opening frame, Eastside’s Jarilix Rivera-Villarini knocked down a deep three-pointer.
Although the scoring did not come often for Eastside on Saturday, Rivera-Villarini served as one of the team’s bright spots as her shooting kept the game close. As the game went on, Loganville was forced to pay extra attention to the senior as she looked to shoot every chance she was open.
A three-point play from Rivera-Villarini made it a five-point game midway through the second frame, and Nyla Smith added a late shot to trim the lead down to four as the game entered halftime.
Eastside entered the break with momentum, but five consecutive misses to open the second half stopped it right in its tracks.
As the Lady Eagles fell into a shooting slump, Loganville seemingly found its way out of one.
Three straight baskets from three different Lady Red Devils pushed the team’s lead to 10.
Loganville went on to convert five of its last six shots to end the third frame as the Lady Red Devils led 47-27 ahead of the final quarter.
The Lady Eagles were on the edge, but sharpshooting from Rivera-Villarini and Kamryn Davis allowed Eastside to trim the lead down before the final seconds left the clock.
Eastside outscored Loganville 21-12 in the fourth quarter, but the deficit proved to be too much for the Lady Eagles to overcome as they fell 48-59.
Final Thoughts and What’s Next
Rivera-Villarini's 17 points led the team as she tallied a trio of three-pointers, five rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Davis followed with 16 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Marshall tallied a large double-double in the win with 20 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks.
Eastside’s loss to Loganville is the team’s final non-region matchup before the bulk of region play begins.
With 10 region games left, Eastside sits at 1-1 in Region 8-AAAA with a win over East Forsyth and a loss to North Oconee.
Overall, the Lady Eagles are 6-5 and will take the holiday off before they pick up region play at home against Walnut Grove(6-6) on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
