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Morristown West held Jefferson County scoreless for the first 11 minutes of action on Monday night, powering it to a 56-23 win on senior night.

The Lady Trojans dominated all areas of the game, especially in the first half and lead 18-0 after one quarter and 28-4 at the half.

“Our defense has been there all year,” head coach Johnny Galyon said. “Honestly, that’s what we hang our hat on. I think our posts are playing well right now. We just got to get our guards in the groove. We’re hitting a few more shots, but I thought overall, it’s a good way to wrap up the regular season. We got six really good seniors that have stayed the course. I’m proud of the work and the grit and commitment that they put forth in their four years. They’re definitely not a group that’s going to quit. They’re a group that’s going to grind and try to get it done.”

Monday’s contest was likely the last time that seniors Jhaniya Mitchell, Maddie Simpson, Haven Simpson, Kalyca Dinkins, Katelyn Bohanon and Kaelynn Marshall graced the floors of Mike Reed Gym, and Galyon expressed his appreciation for the group.

“I could go down the line. Every one of them has stayed the course,” he said. “Like I said, some of them have excelled big time. And you know, others have contributed, that we needed within the program. So every one of them are special to us and and they won’t be forgotten.”

Maddie Simpson especially had a good senior night, going for 21 points despite shooting just 5-of-16 from the stripe, but she made five of her seven attempts in the second half.

“She had a good night,” Galyon said. “We talked about it at halftime, and after halftime, she goes five for seven. So with girls, it’s kind of a mental thing. They think about the misses and everything but shooting the ball. I don’t think she hit one in first half, but you know what you will get from Maddie and Haven. I think they’re playing well right now with Jhaniya. So our post play is pretty strong right now.

Jhaniya Mitchell added 12 and Haven Simpson six, while sophomore Jocelin Murray had nine. Dinkins added a three in the second quarter and Bohanon a long jumper. Marshall also put in a free throw as all six seniors found the bottom of the net at least once.

The first half was the Mitchell and Maddie show as the pair accounted for 16 of 18 West first-quarter points. Haven added the other pair in the quarter as West dominated the offensive glass and forced plenty of turnovers to keep the Lady Patriot offense stifled.

West scored 23 unanswered before JCHS’ Harper Estes finally broke the seal with a pair at the stripe.

The Lady Patriots were held without a field goal for the entirety of the first half, and West led 28-4 at the break.

The Lady Trojans continued their dominance into the third, winning the quarter 16-6 as Jefferson County finally cracked double digits and put in its first field goal with a two and a three from Atty Hartsock. Murray put in six of her nine points in the quarter, and West led 44-10.

The final quarter saw the Lady Trojans let off the gas a bit, but Maddie Simpson put in seven to crack 20 points.

West will now fight for its season in the district tournament as the No. 5 seed, traveling to Dobyns-Bennett on Wednesday.

The Lady Trojans have battled injuries for much of district play, leading to a 2-6 clip and a last-place finish. However, Galyon expects his girls to do some damage in the postseason.

“I don’t think we’re a four or five seed in this league,” he said. “I think every single conference game we played, you know, we had an opportunity to win every single one of them. So you can’t really say that every season, but we can say this season. This district tournament’s wide open. I think anybody can win. And honestly, it’ll be whoever gets hot, whoever is playing the best.”