After a long layoff for the Thanksgiving holidays, the Columbia Academy Lady Cougars returned to the court last week, playing three games in six days.
Last Thursday the Lady Cougars steamrolled Pontchartrain Christian 56-12 behind Macey Jones’ game-high 16 points.
Head coach Dale Watts said it can be a bit of a trap playing a homeschool team, but the Lady Cougars were up to the challenge as Gabby Sullivan added 13 points and Lauren Rowley chipped in 12.
“It was an easy game. It’s a homeschool and their coach is a good guy. Playing homeschools, you have to be careful,” he said. “You have to have good leadership, and I think we showed we did. We just had them outmanned.”
However, Saturday night’s home tilt with Centreville Academy was a stiffer test, and while the Lady Cougars came back to make it interesting late after trailing by double digits most of the second half, Centreville held on for a 60-55 victory.
Centreville point guard Savannah Hailey, who torched the Lady Cougars with 26 points, was the difference maker of the game.
“No. 1 is the fact that their No. 5 was the best girl on the court tonight,” Watts said. “Their point guard whipped us all night long. We did do a pretty good job of coming back and getting within four (points), but we have some holes and things that we have to work on and fix. We dug ourselves a hole and part of that is because of me. We pressed those girls and that made (Hailey) better. I’ll take the blame.”
One of the biggest reasons the Lady Cougars fell behind is they struggled with turnovers, especially on post entry passes.
“We are an inside team. The two things that have to happen is the girl receiving the ball has got to do a good job of sealing off the defender, then the girl passing the ball has got to be precise on her pass,” Watts said. “Several times we had lobs with no backside help, and we threw it into the first row of the stands. They get nervous and their pass goes wacko.”
In the loss, Morgan Jones led the Lady Cougars with 22 points, while Rowley had 14 and Sullivan had 13.
In a barnburner at home Tuesday night, the Lady Cougars dropped a tough one to Jackson Academy 37-35. Jackson Academy’s Deja Bradford could not be held in check all game, pacing the way with 28 points. For the Lady Cougars, Macey Jones led the charge with 13 points, while Rowley and Morgan Jones each had eight.
The Lady Cougars were on the road in McComb to take on Parklane Academy Friday night, but results were unavailable at press time. They will travel to Pelahatchie Saturday night to take on East Rankin Academy.
Pictured Above: Guard Lauren Rowley pulls up for a mid range jumper against Centreville Academy last Saturday night. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
