By By ROBERT BLANKENSHIP
Advance Managing Editor
The Escambia Academy Lady Cougars ended the season strong as they came away with victories over South Montgomery Academy and Dixie Academy to complete their regular season.
On Friday, the Lady Cougars came away with an area win over South Montgomery Academy to secure a perfect 6-0 record in their area. For their perfect record and first place finish, the Lady Cougars will get an automatic bid into the state playoffs regardless of what happens in the area tournament.
The Lady Cougars found themselves down by one point, 9-8, at the end of the first period. But, they came right back in the second, outscoring SMA 19-6, to take a 27-15 advantage into halftime.
Then, in the third period, the Lady Cougars stepped up their defensive effort as they held SMA scoreless. EA took over the game at that point as they took a 38-15 lead at the end of the period.
Leading scorers for the Lady Cougars were Holly Mack with 19 points and Bethany Hawkins with 16.
EA 39, Dixie Academy 22
On Saturday night, the Lady Cougars hosted Dixie Academy and rolled to a 39-22 victory.
Offense was tough to come by early on, especially for Dixie Academy which finished the period with only three points as EA took a 9-3 lead.
They increased their lead in the second as they outscored Dixie 12-8 to take a 21-11 advantage into halftime.
The great defensive play continued into the third period for the Lady Cougars as they held Dixie to only two points in the third period. By the end of the third, EA was cruising with a 20 point lead, 33-13.
Leading scorers for the Lady Cougars were Holly Mack with 16, Bethany Hawkins with seven and Jessica Gibbs with six. Gibbs led the team with 11 rebounds.
Now the girls will focus on the area tournament and state playoffs. Head coach Chad Pruett said there is room for concern as the ladies' shooting has been subpar as of late.
The Lady Cougars will play SMA again in the first round of the area tournament at 6 p.m. on Thursday at SMA. If EA wins, they will play in the championship game scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday.