The Columbia Academy Lady Cougars (24-11) dropped a heartbreaker at home Wednesday in the first round of the MAIS AAA State Tournament.
Columbia Academy made a furious comeback to begin the fourth quarter but ultimately fell short, losing 33-29 to Kirk Academy.
Head coach Dale Watts said he was “real proud” of the Lady Cougars mounting a comeback to come within seconds of knocking off the defending state champs.
“We had a game plan and in the beginning of the game we had a hard time making all the reads and decisions I had given them. We got as many as eight points down, but they hung with it and stayed with the plan,” he said. “I thought they did a great job. To come back and tie it up with (three minutes) to go that was a big deal. I can’t come up with enough praise for them. I thought they laid it out there, really busted their rumps and played extremely hard.”
The Lady Cougars entered the fourth quarter down six points but erased the deficit and tied the game through the first four minutes of the quarter. However, Kirk Academy made a three-pointer in the corner to retake the lead with 2:56 remaining and extended it to five after a pair of free throws.
“They hit one big shot there when it was tied by a girl we knew could,” Watts said. “Straight up they have a very talented team, and we took away their best shooters and made the others take some shots they weren’t making. We knew No. 24 could play. It was a big shot and she made it. That was a gamble we took, and we never could overcome it.”
Madison McNeese brought CA back, though, with a three of her own to trim the Kirk lead to 31-29 with 47.8 seconds remaining. The Raiderettes added a free throw to push the margin back to three points but gave the Lady Cougars a chance. With 14 seconds remaining the Lady Cougars needed a three to send the game to overtime, but Kirk defended Lauren Rowley well, who then had to scramble and take a contested mid-range shot, which fell wide right.
“We wanted to get a three, but they never gave us a clean look,” Watts said. “We ran a play to get a three, but it wasn’t there and I didn’t have any timeouts left. We were going to go for a two and I would’ve called a timeout, which gives you a technical foul, but if you make that shot you’re only down one. You’re just trying to find a way to have things fall your way. I had told her if the three wasn’t there, then try to get the two quick, but that didn’t happen either.”
Kirk added another free throw following the miss, ending the game. Despite the loss Watts believes the Lady Cougars have a bright future ahead of them.
“We lose only one senior. It was my first year with them, and they had a lot of adjustments to make and worked extremely hard to do it. Kirk is the defending state champs with four starters back. We knew that was going to be an extremely hard game,” Watts concluded. “The brackets haven’t fell our way this year, but I can’t say enough for them.”
Pictured Above: Columbia Academy's Lauren Rowley makes a mid-range jumper against Kirk Academy. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
