When things got a little chippy early in the fourth quarter — there was some pushing and words were exchanged — Jeannette pulled back and didn’t retaliate.
It could have, and maybe it would have in a previous version of itself.
Instead, the Jayhawks girls basketball team directed the ire toward better defensive play and produced their fourth straight win, 30-24 over visiting Clairton on Monday night on Lou Seiler Court.
Negotiating the tension was not only a key to victory, but it also proved to be a teaching lesson for a young team. Jeannette (5-1) has three seniors, one junior, five sophomores and two freshmen.
“It’s all about keeping our composure and maturing as a team,” said Jeannette senior point guard Navarah Smith, who scored a game-high 13 points. “We’ve worked on being resilient. When we make a bad play, get the ball back and make a good play. Every game, we’re getting better.”
In a game with more scoring lulls than scoring runs, Jeannette relied on steals and blocks down the stretch to preserve the lead and post another low-scoring victory.
Jeannette, which is only averaging 37.7 points, won four games all of last season (4-15).
Clairton (1-1), playing its second game of the post-Iyanna Wade era — the star guard now at Slippery Rock averaged 38.8 points as a senior last year and had 3,119 career points — was held to one field goal in the second and fourth quarters.
“Sometimes that high energy frazzles the other team,” Jeannette second-year coach Jenna Lusby said of her team’s demeanor. “We showed aggressiveness on defense, and that connects to good offense. We have a very young team, and we’re still learning. We also had a tight game like this against Monessen. The girls are getting more confidence.”
Sophomore Leah DeFelice added nine points for Jeannette — on three first-half 3-pointers — and 5-foot-11 sophomore Jayden Goodson had four blocks.
“It’s more with our defense,” Smith said. “We’re focused on winning games. Trap, close out and rebound.”
Jeannette took a 25-20 lead after three quarters, despite Karma Fuqua and Jamiya Brownfield leading a Bears’ run to close a nine-point gap to five.
After a few tense moments early in the fourth, Smith came up with a steal and made a layup, then scored again on an assist from Goodson off an inbound play to make it 29-20.
Lusby was mostly pleased with how her team handled a late lead. She did notice several missed layups that could have provided a larger cushion.
“We’ve come such a long way (from last year),” Lusby said. “We have more girls playing AAU and more basketball. The girls are receptive to what we’re telling them. It’s been a full 360 (-degree turn). Last year, we couldn’t get five girls to come to practice. Now, we have 11 on the roster. We’re excited to get to conference play.”
Clairton went nearly seven minutes without a basket and fell behind by 30-20 after sophomore Aubriella Milliron grabbed an offensive rebound, drew a foul and made 1 of 2 shots for Jeannette.
Goodson had two blocks in a two-plus-minute span, and Jeannette produced several steals before Fuqua finally hit a 3 from the wing with 1:24 remaining.
The Bears ran out of time after Brownfield’s free throw with 6.4 seconds left.
“(Jeannette) played good defense,” Clairton coach Carlton Wade said. “We just played a terrible game. We were not able to score the ball and played decent defense, but we just couldn’t score.”
Clairton beat Frazier, 54-36, in its season opener.
“You lose 40 points a game in scoring,” Wade said, “what do you expect?”
Clairton took an early advantage thanks to three first-quarter 3s from Brownfield, who led the Bears with 12 points. Fuqua scored 10.
Jhustice Jones was the only other scorer for Clairton.
Jeannette led 13-11 after the first quarter, with DeFelice, who has emerged as a complementary scorer to Smith, making a pair of 3s.
The teams only combined for nine points in the second quarter, with junior Karmen Kistner’s jumper giving Jeannette a 21-14 lead.
Back-to-back driving layups from Smith stretched it to 25-16.