PONCHATOULA, La. (WGNO) — Ponchatoula senior guard Jaylee Womack has already signed to play her college ball at Tulane University.
Before Womack heads to uptown New Orleans, she has unfinished business in Hammond next week.
This season, Womack became Ponchatoula’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing 2,800 career points in her 4-years with the program.
An honor previously held by Amoura Graves who was the first in school history to hit the 2,000 career point mark last season.
“Last year I had big help from Amoura. So, with her leaving I knew I had to step up this year,” says Ponchatoula senior Jaylee Womack.
For years, Jaylee Womack has spent countless hours in the gym perfecting her craft.
A craft that has been on full display in the Ponchatoula Lady Wave’s run to the Class 5A semi-finals with Jaylee averaging 32 points per game in their 3 playoff wins.
“I work out every day, twice a day. So, when I get on the court it’s just comfortable. It’s nothing new,” says Womack.
“She puts in so much time outside of practice, and I mean you can tell. She either gets up in the morning and goes to shoot for an hour and then comes to school. Then goes at twelve when she gets out of school for an hour. Then she comes to our practice. Then goes back and shoots again for an hour. And then on weekends, her and her dad is out there 2-3 times at least,” says Ponchatoula head girl’s basketball coach Patricia Landaiche.
Jaylee Womack comes from a family with an impressive basketball background.
The bar has been set high by her older sister, Jazmyn, who was a member of the last Ponchatoula team to win a state title in 2015.
“Every day my dad would have us in the gym and we would play one-on-one. She’s my biggest competitor. She’s helped me big-time,” says Womack.
When Jaylee is on the court, head coach Patricia Landaiche sees that basketball influence in action.
“It’s amazing how they’re similar, but different. They both had the outside shot. They both could penetrate. They both can see the court so well. You can see Jaz playing at Nicholls right now. She’s doing a great job there. Jaylee is so smooth. Everything about her is smooth. Her defense, her passing. Jaylee is so unselfish. She makes everybody on the court better the way she plays,” says Landaiche.
Jaylee Womack has proven time and time again that she is one of the most lethal scorers in Class 5A, with a goal to become the next in her family to win a state championship.
Ponchatoula will face Walker in the Class 5A semi-finals at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night.