By John Henson
Sports Writer
MIDDLESBORO — With seven wins in their first 11 games, the Middlesboro Lady Jackets appear headed toward their best season in a decade or more, and coach Sally Adams says several changes instituted in the preseason are paying off.
“The girls’ dedication has been a lot better,” Adams said. “They have been lifting weights since August. We’ve changed our whole philosophy on offense and defense. We are more structured this year.”
Middlesboro moved into the semifinals of the 13th Region All “A” Classic at their home gym with a 66-39 win over Williamsburg on Sunday afternoon. The Lady Jackets’ lead was 28-20 at halftime, but they took over in the second half after making some adjustments.
“There were a few things we had to fix at halftime. We made some adjustments,” Adams said. “We played a lot better the second half.”
Senior guard Keevi Betts led a balanced Middlesboro attack with 19 points. Sophomore Millie Roberts tossed in 17 and freshman guard Emily Lambert added 15 for the Lady Jackets,.
The 5-7 Lady Jackets were led by sophomore forwards Presley Spicer and Abby Moses with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Middlesboro will play Pineville in the tournament semifinals on Monday.
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Middlesboro (66) — Keevi Betts 19, Millie Roberts 17, Morgan Martin 2, Trinity Derossett 2, Emily Lambert 15, Addison Lucas 6, Trinity Partin 5.
Williamsburg (39) — Lorelei Coleman 2, Presley Spicer 14, Braylee Evans 4, Ellie Breeding 4, Abby Moses 10, Hannah Creekmore 5.

Williamsburg 6 14 11 8 — 39
Middlesboro 14 14 23 15 — 66