By Staff
Special to the Advance
After winning the 2A state championship two years in a row and losing five starting freshmen from last year's team, the JV Lady Cougars are 6-5 at the Christmas break. This young and inexperienced Lady Cougar team managed a second-place finish at summer camp and in early December, once again, the Bridesmaid trophy at the EA JV Invitational in which Katie Smith and Morgan Dorriety were named to the all-tournament team.
Starting for the Cougars are freshmen Katie Smith (32 points) and Morgan Dorriety (74 points), along with eighth-graders Clare Jones (54 points), Eva Cume (23 points) and Marrianna Woods (21 points). Coming in first off the bench is freshman Erin Burkette, with eighth-graders Caitlyn Luttrell (6 points), Leigh Ann Everett (4 points), Candace Perkins (2 points), seventh-graders Alaina Arnold (4 points), Andrea Nall (10 points), and sixth-graders Jordan Jaye (6 points) and Kay Leigh Miller (5 points).
The five Cougar losses were to 3A Faith Academy (18-5; 22-20), to 3A Fort Dale Academy (22-17 in the JV Invitational championship game), to Wilcox (23-16), and to Jay, (35-14) in a game that was 7-6 at the end of one quarter and 10-15 at the half before the Royals took control in the fourth quarter.
The E.A. JV ladies claimed victories over 3A Monroe Academy (27-24; 319), Sparta Academy (35-23; 26-19) and Clarke Prep (28-5; 22-5).
The E.A. JV Lady Cougars have proven to be a scrappy bunch, gaining experience each time they step onto the court. These 13 young Cougars know that they are a long way from an invitation to the state tourney, needing to win almost every game they have remaining in order to do so. They realize that they are the underdog. At the beginning of the season, very few thought that these girls could repeat a third time as state champs. However, these 13 ladies believed from the start and they continue to believe in each other. The Cougars will host Monroe Academy Volunteers on Tuesday and will then travel to Montgomery to take on Calvary Academy on Jan. 9.