Douglass not satisfied despite 23-point win over West Jessamine
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Douglass beat West Jessamine 66-43 but defensive lapse in second-half a concern.
- West Jessamine battled through injuries; Claire Marshall eased back into play.
- Douglass fine tuning its intensity as several top-ranked opponents loom in weeks ahead.
It’s the nature of being the defending 11th Region champion and a 2025 state tournament semi-finalist that a 23-point win over a solid opponent leaves its players and coach fretting over what they could have done better.
Frederick Douglass, ranked No. 7 in the latest Kentucky Media Elite 16 girls basketball poll, overwhelmed 12th Region contender West Jessamine 66-43 on Wednesday night at The Farm.
But the Broncos seemed to let off the gas in the second half against a Colts team that, despite missing its starting point guard, kept itself within striking distance much of the way.
“We’ve got to go after it. I feel like a lot of the time, we’re watching the ball,” said Douglass junior guard Jaelee Knowles, who was among three Broncos in double figures with 15 points. “Like on rebounds, we were waiting for the next girl to go get the ball. I feel like we’ve got to definitely pick up our rebounding. And our defense was kind of bad in the second half. It’s just effort.”
Douglass (12-3) knows the standards it’s trying to meet. The Broncos were humbled 67-35 at No. 1 Assumption on Dec. 9. Eleven days later, they fell 70-67 in a close battle with No. 2 George Rogers Clark at home. Their only other loss occurred to an out-of-state opponent at a Florida holiday tournament. The Broncos have won seven straight since and have blown out their four 42nd District opponents on their first pass through the district schedule.
“I think my team is right there,” Douglass coach Daryl Moberly said. “I think we’ve just got to get better aggressively, defensive-wise. A couple of 50/50 balls we were just watching out there. The good thing is that it’s a simple fix.”
Tied at 17-17 with 1:19 to play in the first quarter, Douglass went on a 16-2 run that began with a wild Knowles flip into the basket on the run. A foul sent her sprawling to the floor. She made the free throw. Moments later, an offensive rebound gave Tamia Waide a second-chance 3-pointer for a 23-17 lead going into the second quarter.
West Jessamine committed four turnovers and missed three shots before it scored again with 50 seconds left until the break. The Colts, who have been hampered by injuries to key players all season, trailed 38-23 at half.
“We haven’t had a game all year where we’ve been healthy, so, we’re just trying to get healthy right now,” West Jessamine coach Matt Hilkens said.
The Colts (10-8) have played most of the season without standout junior forward Claire Marshall, a 6-foot forward who averaged 15.2 points and 12.1 rebounds per game last season. Wednesday’s game against Douglass marked only her sixth of the year as she eases back into the lineup due to a strained knee.
Ariana McLoney, the Colts’ senior starting point guard, tried to go on a sore ankle and knocked down a 3-pointer in the first quarter, but she exited the game soon after.
Still, West Jessamine battled, outscoring the Broncos 11-10 in the third quarter and trimming its deficit to 11 points with 5:05 left in the game. Marshall led the Colts with 12 points. Novalee Smith and Katie Mastin each had eight.
“We struggled a lot tonight. It wasn’t our best effort,” Hilkens said. “But when you look at the fact that it was an 11-point game with four minutes to go … and Ariana McLoney didn’t even play for us. … That’s a 1,000-point scoring senior point guard that could have helped with that pressure a lot more.”
Douglass turned up its intensity and expanded its lead over the last four minutes. Waide finished with a game-high 19 points that included four 3-pointers. MK Bennett added 17 points, eight of them in the fourth-quarter push.
Hilkens kept Wednesday’s defeat in perspective. Like Douglass, the Colts’ losses also include Assumption and Clark. They take on No. 8 Notre Dame on Monday, No. 11 North Laurel on Jan. 30 and No. 10 Ashland Blazer on Jan. 31.
“It’s a learning experience for us,” he said. “None of these games really matter until we get to districts. … We’re going through the gauntlet of all the top 25 teams in the state, and that’s who we hope that we can compete with. We’re not afraid to schedule them and see how we match up.”
Douglass travels to Notre Dame on Friday and its remaining schedule includes No. 3 Sacred Heart in Louisville on Feb. 6, No. 15 Boyd County at George Rogers Clark’s showcase on Feb. 7, and No. 4 Simon Kenton at home on Feb. 9.
Although Moberly lamented the Broncos’ second half lapse, he said he’s pleased with his team’s progress.
“I feel like we kind of know each other’s game now since we had the holiday break,” Moberly said. “There’s more team camaraderie, and we know where to hit people at, where our sweet spot’s at. As a whole we’re moving in the right direction, heading towards February. I don’t think we’re at our peak just yet.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 12:40 AM.
