The West Jessamine girls basketball team got off to a slow start Friday against their cross-county rivals and never recovered, as the East Jessamine Lady Jaguars defeated the Lady Colts 58-36 in West’s gym. The Lady Colts struggled from the opening tip. They did not score a point until midway through the first quarter. By that time, East was already ahead 7-2. For a team that’s reliant on its up-tempo offense, West's demise began with its struggles in transition. It didn’t help West that Bethany Hamilton tweaked a preexisting injury early in the first quarter and was noticeable gimpy throughout the night. But she still managed to score nine points in the game. For the Lady Jags, the game took the same shape as the previous meeting between the two teams, when East defeated West 56-30 on Jan. 8. “When we play at home, we play better,” East head coach Jacqueline Coleman said following the game. “When we play here it’s a different type of game.” Coleman was speaking about the Lady Jags’ sluggish start to the game. Despite their tentative play on offense early on, East still jumped out a 16-3 first quarter lead. The early lead for East seemed to be due more to West’s inability to set up its half-court offense than East’s slow start. West narrowed East’s lead to nine points after a Hamilton three with six minutes remaining in the first half. That was as close as the Lady Colts would get in the half, however. East led 30-20 at halftime. “I think defensively we played good; offensively not so well,” Coleman said. “We have some work to do offensively. Part of that is that our other guards are two freshmen and a sophomore. So, there’s a lot of growth that can happen there. We’ve got to dial in mentally because going into the postseason it becomes more and more of a mental game.” In the second half, Anna Rexford started West off strong, scoring three early points to pull the Lady Colts within seven points at 30-23. But that would be the last highlight for West in the game. The Lady Jags asserted themselves in the second half. They pounded the ball in the paint against the smaller Lady Colts. East’s Emma Young scored seven points in limited time in the half. She finished with 18 points, followed by 17 points from Haley Harrison. “Our players have started to find their groove a little better as the year has gone on,” Coleman said. “I never feel good; I never feel bad; I just want to feel prepared.” photo credit: Joshua Huff