By By Matthew Nascone
Five of the last seven AISA JV State Tournaments have featured a girls' team from Escambia Academy, but this year was a tough one for the Lady Cougars.
The team lost 28-25 to Southern Academy Jan. 26 in Camden on the Wilcox Academy court.
"We may have lost, but our girls gave a great effort, but sometimes it is just not meant to be," Lady Cougars' head coach Larry Bonds said. "I was happy with the defensive effort our girls had, but we just could not hit a shot outside the paint. We scored all but two baskets inside the paint."
Bonds said the Lady Cougars (13-8) had chances to win the game, but shot a measly 21 percent from the free throw line. The team had an average above 50 percent for the season, but Bonds said they just went cold from the line.
Taylor Helton led the Lady Cougars with 11 points and 12 rebounds while battling foul trouble the entire second half. She was named to the all-tournament team.
Carlie Broughton added 6 points and nine rebounds. Amber Huskey had 4 points and five rebounds and Rachel Fuller and Samantha Lee each scored 2 points.
The team finished the season Tuesday against Fort Dale Academy.
Wilcox 42 Cougars 31
The JV Cougars also lost in the first round of the JV State Tournament to Wilcox.
Wilcox hit eight free throws down the stretch to turn a close lead into a 42-31 victory.
"We were within striking distance in the fourth quarter, but they knocked down every free throw they took late," EA head coach Kevin Woods said. "They came out looking great and we had no answer for them."
The game was close the whole way, with the Wildcats holding a lead at the end of every quarter. The score was 8-7 after the first, 22-16 at halftime, 29-26 after three quarters and 42-31 at the end of the game.
"It was a disappointing loss for us because it ended our season, but I just can't explain how we beat a team by 20-something points twice and we lose to them in the playoffs," Woods said.
J.P. Solomon led the Cougars (15-6) with 10 points and 15 rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team in his first year of playing organized basketball.
"I am so happy with how much J.P. has improved on the year," Woods said.
Keaton Maher added 8 points and six rebounds. Gavin Salter had 7 points and four rebounds and Thomas Moore and Tanner Kirk each had 3 points.