Jackson Academy’s Nae Nae Ellis was a one-man wrecking crew.

Behind the a stiff defense, along with the play of Ellis and McKinna Smith, the Lady Raiders raced past Union 53-25 to claim the Lamar Christmas Bash girls championship on Wednesday night.

“I was really pleased with how we started the game and how we kept attacking through out the whole game,” Jackson Academy coach Jan Sojourner said. “Nae Nae is her own worse enemy, and tonight she showed what she can do.”

The Lady Raiders (16-1) never trailed the entire game. Jackson Academy jumped out to a 16-6 lead in the first quarter and extended its lead to 23-9. The Lady Raiders went into halftime up 29-14.

The third quarter, JA outscored Union 19-3 to increase the lead to 48-17.

“Hitting those outside shots was early in the game was huge for us, and we had good intensity,” Sojourner said. “Tonight we were very balanced on offense, and that’s something we haven’t had all the time this year. Hopefully with conference play coming up we can continue this type of intensity.”

Ellis finished with a game-high 15 points and nine rebounds to lead JA and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Smith added 12 points for the Lady Raiders.

Kamyia Russell had nine points to lead Union (13-3). Keirra Russell added seven points for the Lady Jackets.

“JA is a different machine, and they are a very well-coached and disciplined team,” Union coach Matt Wilbanks said. “We didn’t bring our best game, and they let us know quick. A game like this lets us know what we have to work on, and we will heading into district play.”

OTHER RESULTS

GIRLS

Lamar School 60, Morton 13

Sarah Reed, Lydia Hutcherson and Blake Hart all had 12 points each as the Lady Raiders (11-7) raced past the Lady Panthers.

PCS 49, Newton County Academy 16

Addyson Sherer had 17 points to lead the Lady Bobcats past the Lady Generals.

Lilly Hollingsworth had seven points to lead Newton County Academy.

BOYS

Union 41, Northeast Lauderdale 40

Jamarcus Jones had a game-high 19 points as the Yellowjackets (10-3) edged the Trojans. 

Amari McDonald had eight points to lead NE Lauderdale.

Lamar School 58, Newton County Academy 39

Ross Polizzi had 17 points to lead the Raiders (11-6) over the Generals.

Riley Boswell had 17 points to lead Newton Co. Academy (7-7).