The Lady Cougars fell to 9-4 following a 1-2 stretch over a five-day span and are looking for ways to win against smaller, quicker opponents.
Columbia Academy beat Parklane Academy 57-35 at home Dec. 7, with three players scoring in double figures. Lauren Rowley led the way with 18 points, followed by Gabby Sullivan with 16 and Macey Jones 10.
The following night in Meridian, the Lady Cougars struggled to get everyone involved in a 48-35 loss to Lamar School. Sullivan had a season-high 22 points, but Macey Jones had only eight and Rowley four.
On their home court Tuesday night, the Lady Cougars fell behind early and never could put together a long enough run to get closer than seven points and lost 55-47 to Leake Academy.
“We’ve got to limit our turnovers. Even against Leake (Tuesday) night, if we could’ve limited our turnovers and then make free throws — that was a big deal for us — and cash in on the easy ones,” head coach Dale Watts said, “those are things that we can do. We got beat by eight points, and if we made free throws, limited turnovers and made some of those shots that we should’ve made, hey, we would’ve won the ball game.”
Watts added he liked that the Lady Cougars did a better job early on, but they had too many turnovers against a team that excels in the open floor.
Rowley led the way with 17 points against Leake, while Macey Jones had 15 and Morgan Jones 11. Watts said he has considered putting the ball more in Morgan Jones’ hands, who has already signed with Southern Miss, but it’s harder for her to be effective as she is in AAU within CA’s offense. There isn’t the same amount of floor spacing available to her with the Lady Cougars compared to AAU, where she is able to get consistent looks from mid-range and attack closeouts.
“I want to put it in her hands, but she doesn’t have the people around her like she does in AAU. You can put the ball in her hands in AAU, but yet there’s other people they have to be mindful of more so than us,” he said. “I do try to put the ball in her hands more and it’s a thought I’ve considered, but we don’t have as much team balance as they have in AAU. She’s not going to get the open floor opportunities she does with us that she does in AAU.”
CA played host to Simpson Academy Friday night, but results were unavailable at press time. The Lady Cougars will play Presbyterian Christian Saturday night on the road before hosting the CA Holiday Tournament Dec. 27-29.
Pictured Above: Columbia Academy senior forward and Southern Miss signee Morgan Jones makes a contested layup Tuesday against Leake Academy despite being fouled. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
