The Lady Jackets will head into another Bartow-Gordon County Middle School Athletic Association basketball championship game after defeating the Ashworth Girls at Cass Middle School on Wednesday.

Calhoun jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the first quarter and was up 23-6 at the half.

“The girls were fired up and have been ready for this game all week, being a cross-town rival,” said CMS Head Coach Diane Smith. “The girls did a great job, especially on defense, and we capitalized on their mistakes.”

The third and fourth quarters were played at a much closer pace between the two girl’s teams.

The Lady Jackets won the third quarter 10-9 but Ashworth had a strong final quarter with a 16-12 performance despite the overall loss.

Calhoun’s Molly Palmer led all scorers with 14 points. She added a game high 14 rebounds for the double-double. She just missed out on a triple-double with eight steals.

Ashworth struggled to defend Palmer, who stood nearly six inches higher than the closest opponent.

“It does make a difference to have someone as tall as her on the team,” said Smith. “I had her sister last year, her this year, and hopefully someone else will grow so I can have another big one next year.”

Wimberly Roe led the Lady Jackets with eight assists to go along with her six points.

“Wimberly was all over the place,” said Smith.

Calhoun’s Payton Greeson added nine points. Calli Davis scored four and Tess Wright rounded out the scoring with two.

The Lady Jackets will have a chance to avenge its only loss of the season this Saturday against Cartersville. The Lady Purple Hurricanes snapped Smith’s four year winning streak.

“Cartersville is who we figured we would play against and we are looking forward to it,” said Smith. “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”