Despite being the less talked about team on their own campus, the Lady Cougars are one game away from the Class 3A state championship final.
Columbia Academy (17-21) ousted Central Holmes 44-32 in the quarterfinals Wednesday at Canton Academy, getting off to a great start by going up 10 points in the first quarter.
“Our girls have learned to make some adjustments during the game,” head coach Dale Watts said. “They were very similar to Lamar Christian in the fact that they had two really good girls. We were able to take those two girls not totally out of the game but make them work so hard and give them very little. Then their role players were not good enough to match up with us.”
CA took on south state champ Clinton Christian Friday afternoon for the right to go to the state championship, but results were unavailable at press time. With a win over Clinton, the Lady Cougars would face either North Delta or Bowling Green in the championship.
However, Clinton is loaded and will be a lot for the Lady Cougars to handle, according to Watts.
“They have a point guard who is fast as lightning and can shoot the three,” he said Thursday. “They got another girl down on the post that is a little bit heavy, but she shoots from the perimeter and around the basket really well. The coach’s daughter, who plays on the wing, is very athletic, can shoot the three and get to the rim. Then they have a girl who can shoot free throws really well and from the perimeter really well. Then there’s another girl who plays on the other wing that can shoot the three.”
Watts added that he’s really proud of the Lady Cougars for making it this far, but now they’ve “jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
“Now we’ll see what we’re made of,” he said. “Our girls will have to really work hard and do what we can do. We can’t get into a run-and-shoot game. We have to try to convince them to play the kind of defense we need them to play, and we have to be able to capitalize when they do.”
Lauren McDaniel led CA with 16 points and seven rebounds against Central Holmes, while Presley Dease (nine points) and Olivia Adams (six points) each hauled in 11 boards.
Pictured Above: CA's Kylan Reagan goes up for a layup against Lamar Christian. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
