By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

ST. MARTIN — The St. Martin girls waited a few days longer than most other prep basketball squads in the “Southern Six” to tip off the new basketball season, but once they got going the Lady Yellow Jackets are off to a good start.
St. Martin began the season with a 45-6 thumping of home-standing Gautier Friday night and followed that up with a 56-24 win over visiting St. Patrick in the annual Joe Barlow/Mike Perkins Invitational here at St. Martin High on Saturday.

In the second of the back-to-back wins, the Lady Yellow Jackets jumped out to a quick 19-6 lead after the first period and never looked back.
Emma Chester drained a pair of 3-pointers in that opening frame for SMHS and Kylah Jenkins also dropped in a trey and added another basket for five points in the period.
Kennedi Jenkins added a 3-pointer and had seven points in the second period of a nine point first half performance while Maiyah Johnson chipped in a trey as well as the Lady Yellow Jackets outscored the Lady Irish 16-6 in the quarter to pull into halftime with a commanding 35-12 halftime advantage.
Kennedi Jenkins paced SMHS with 11 points in the winning effort while Kylenn Ward finished with 10 points after a six point third frame that helped thwart any thought SPHS had of a second half comeback.
Natalie Gordon tallied a game-high 12 points for St. Patrick.

St. Martin head coach Jason Kennedy lost quite a few of his top contributors from last season, when the Lady Yellow Jackets finished 25-8. St. Martin fell to Germantown 50-43 in the first-ever Class 7A Final Four Overall State Semifinal round to end last season. It marked just the second time in program history that the Lady Yellow Jackets had qualified for the Final Four in The Big House.
“It always feels good to get wins early, but we are truly focusing on the growing process with this young group.” Kennedy said Saturday. “As a staff we are taking lessons from each game (the good and the bad) and finding ways to improve. I love the effort these young ladies bring not just on game day but each day. Our goal is to get a little better every day.”

Kennedy lost five seniors to graduation as each are now playing juco ball, and he will also be without his top returning player all season as junior guard Kaleah Lowery injured her knee over the summer and will be out this season.
In the season-opener on Friday night, SMHS stormed past Gautier thanks to Kennedi Jenkins who dropped in a game-high 16 points including quartet of 3-pointers in the big win over the Lady Gators.
Kiyara Lee and Kylah Jenkins added eight points apiece to the winning effort, while Ward chipped in seven points. Kylah Jenkins had a pair of treys also, as the Jenkins sisters combined for six 3-pointers all told.
Next up for the SMHS girls is tip to Leakesville along with their male counterparts to face Greene County Tuesday night. The SMHS boys host St. Stanislaus Monday night before hitting the road the next day.