The switch came on, just when Jeannette needed it.
The Jayhawks were dull offensively early in a rematch with visiting Apollo-Ridge and needed somebody to sharpen the blade.
Senior guard Navarah Smith has done it many times before, so she was glad to oblige again.
“When I look at the scoreboard, and we’re in a close game, there is this switch in my head: go mode,” Smith said.
Smith erupted for 21 of her season-high 31 points in the second half to power Jeannette to a 39-34 victory in Section 4-2A girls basketball Thursday night at Lou Seiler Court.
Smith was insatiable on defense, too, as the point guard added 12 steals and four blocks.
“I try to pass and get to the rack,” Smith said. “If that’s not working, it’s time to go.”
Jeannette (13-5, 4-3) has won five of six and is now alone in third place. Apollo-Ridge (9-10, 3-4), which had won seven of eight and beat Jeannette earlier in the season 36-30 — Smith fouled out after a technical in the fourth quarter — couldn’t protect an 11-point lead in the second quarter and took an 18-14 edge into halftime.
The Vikings ran off 13 straight points and had an 18-2 run but couldn’t hold back the Jayhawks.
Smith scored nine in the third when Jeannette outscored the visitors 12-5. She made 5 of 9 free throws in the quarter and 9 of 13 for the night.
“She’s a bucket,” said Apollo-Ridge coach Raevaan Mottley, a Greensburg Salem graduate who was on the 2009 PIAA finalist team. “I like the way she plays and how she gets after it.”
Jeannette, which scored the first five points of the game, didn’t regain the lead until late in the third quarter when sophomore Leah DeFelice hit a 3-pointer to make it 25-23. Jeannette didn’t trail again, as Smith pumped in 12 of her team’s 13 in the fourth.
In the previous matchup, Jeannette managed just two points in the fourth.
“We couldn’t practice on Monday or Tuesday, so we hadn’t practiced going into our game at Ellis School (Wednesday),” Jeannette coach Jenna Lusby said. “My girls have to touch a ball to be consistent. It was chaotic, but I was glad to see how we played start to finish.”
Sophomore Madison Hughley scored inside to open the fourth and cut margin to 26-25, but Smith converted a steal into points to stretch the margin to 31-25.
Hughley led the Vikings with 14 points.
A short-corner jumper by Smith was sandwiched between 3s from Vikings senior Lauren Gamble and freshman Emily Shellhammer, which got Apollo-Ridge within 33-31 with 3 minutes, 58 seconds to play.
Smith scored six straight, though, adding a block during a 6-1 spurt, as Jeannette went ahead 39-32 with 50 seconds remaining.
“Kudos to (Jeannette),” Mottley said. “They fought hard. We had a tough time getting the ball in the basket.”
Apollo-Ridge managed just four field goals in the second half — two in each quarter — going against Jeannette’s 1-3-1 defense.
“They have that 1-3-1, and they are committed to it,” Mottley said. “It’s not something we’re used to seeing all the time. We’re always learning. This is a game to learn from.”
Smith said the loss to Apollo-Ridge fueled her performance.
“That was one of the main things that pushed us,” she said. “We didn’t want to feel that way again. We learned from our mistakes.”
Jeannette played its fourth set of back-to-back games this season. It beat Ellis School, 44-29, on Wednesday.