Before the Jonesboro Lady Cardinals’ contest against Forest Park Friday, head coach Michael House talked about his team being a different team since a December loss to the Lady Panthers.

“We were real flat,” said House of Jonesboro’s three-point shortcoming. “The girls came out the first time we played them and looked at the jerseys on their chest and saw Forest Park. They were a deer in headlights, but we are a different team now.”

Junior Briana Benson (18 points) and the Lady Cardinals backed up their coach’s statement with a key 52-39 victory, which snapped the Lady Panthers’ 32-game region winning streak, and possibly moved them a step closer to achieving one of their goals.

“We talk about it nonstop that we are competing for the region championship,” said House before the team improved to 11-2 in Region 4-AAAA. “We feel from a leadership standpoint that we have all the pieces we need to be a very successful team. We want the highest seed possible going into the state playoffs.”

Jonesboro is currently third in the region behind Forest Park and Mundy’s Mill, respectively, and on pace to end its two-year playoff drought.

“The team that started out the season wasn’t going to win the state championship,” House said. “It’s the team that has improved the most since Oct. 24 to now that is going to win the state championship.

“We understand that,” House said. “We preach that to our kids. We’ve seen so much progress from Oct. 24 until now that we’re very excited about this season and the future of Jonesboro athletics.”

A big part of this optimism begins with junior center Kimberly Dawkins.

“It starts from inside out with Jonesboro,” House said. “Our centerpiece Kimberly, who had a triple-double against North Clayton, has been doing a great job in the middle for us. She is also starting to put the ball in the basket which is what we are really looking for her to continue.”

And this attitude continues because of Benson.

“Briana’s numbers are up,” House said. “She averaged 14 points a game last year. Now, she’s averaging nearly 16 a game. It’s great to see even with the addition of Kim scoring we also have the consistency and increased numbers from Briana.”

Senior Alexcia Cross and junior Ashley Hand also received some well-deserved credit for their efforts from House.

"Alexcia is the glue and stat buster that has really helped keep this team together," House said. "She is out there doing it all from steals, assists to scoring when we need it. Big free throws when we need it. A key contributor to our team."

Today, the Lady Cardinals visit North Clayton, which they defeated 49-34 on Jan. 6.