Johnson City beat Charlotte last Tuesday 64-23 and Skidmore-Tynan on Friday 59-33 to advance into the third round of the playoffs.
The win over Charlotte started Johnson City’s playoff campaign with a strong victory that it then followed up with another strong performance against Skidmore- Tynan.
“We just take it one step at a time,” senior Jackie Earley said. “Watch film, study up and practice like we always do.”
Johnson City travelled to Seguin Feb. 10 to face Charlotte in the first round of the playoffs. The first quarter started physically and defensively on both sides, with the two teams holding each other to single digits until late in the quarter when Johnson City picked up momentum and took a 14-6 lead at the end of the first. The Lady Eagles maintained the momentum and ended the first half with a 31-8 lead. In the second half, it was more of the same, with Johnson City leading 52-15 after the third quarter and extending its lead in the fourth quarter to defeat Charlotte 64-23.
“Our transition was immaculate, I thought our press was really good,” said Johnson City coach Chris Schlicke said. “We wanted to make sure that we come in and put our best foot forward, especially defensively.”
One player who had a breakout game was senior JayCee Debusk, one of the Lady Eagles’ defensive specialists, who earned loud applause from the team’s bench and supporters in the crowd when she landed three two-point shots from the field across the second and third quarter. Debusk’s success on offense fired up the Lady Eagles, whose highest scoring quarters in the game were the ones where Debusk scored.
“They’re cheering for her, they want her success as much as anybody else’s success,” Schlicke said. “Our playoff motto is ‘iron sharpens iron’ and we make everybody better.”
Offensively for Johnson City, Earley led the team with 13 points. Sophomore Chloe Clark had 10 and junior Brook Hobbs added nine. Most players on the roster scored in what was overall a balanced team effort in the win over Charlotte.
“I think we played as a team and we were very selfless,” Hobbs said. “If we play like that the rest of the way, I think we can make it far.”
Johnson City’s next opponent was Skidmore-Tynan on Friday, also in Seguin. In the second year in a row that these two schools met in the second round of the playoffs, Johnson City added another strong win to its 2025 playoff campaign with a 5933 victory, a sharp contrast to the close 45-42 win in last year’s edition. The win punched the Lady Eagles’ ticket to the third round as it did a season ago.
Johnson City traveled to Seguin after press time Tuesday to face Flatonia in the third round of the playoffs. If the Lady Eagles win, it will be the farthest the team has advanced into the playoffs in at least the last 15 years.
