By By Chandler Myers
After falling behind early in the first quarter to the Patrician Academy Lady Saints, the Escambia Academy Lady Cougars could not pull off an upset and fell to Patrician 59-49.
The Lady Cougars (2-4) were up against one of their toughest opponents of the season and did not have any favorable match ups on the court.
The Lady Saints (4-0) brought in three players with height of six foot or taller.
The height proved to be a difference maker throughout the game, as the Lady Cougars were outscored in three of the four quarters.
In the first quarter, the Lady Saints jumped out to a quick 14-9 lead, and they would never look back.
Lady Cougars head coach Heath Gibson said the mismatch in height was a problem for his players, but added they put up a good fight against Patrician.
Sophomore Kristen Matthews led the Lady Cougars with 11 points, while posting one rebound, one assist and one steal.
Senior Alaina Arnold followed Matthews with 10 points and recorded three rebounds; one assist and one steal for EA.
In the second quarter, the Lady Cougars cut the Saints lead to two, by beating Patrician 17-14 in that quarter. At the half, Patrician led 28-26.
Gibson said the second quarter was how he expects his team to play against all of their opponents.
Sophomore Taylor Helton was one point shy of a double double, but still put up an impressive performance. Helton scored nine points for the Lady Cougars and led the team in rebounds with 10. She also dished out three assists; nabbed three steals and blocked two shots.
Senior Andrea Nall showed off her grit and determination scoring 10 points; pulled down five rebounds; stole the ball three times and recorded one assist.
Patrician began to pull away again in the third quarter outscoring the Lady Cougars 16-10 and leading into the final quarter 44-36.
Gibson said Patrician was able to take over the game in third by making proper adjustments to use their size to their advantage again.
Sophomore Amber Huskey scored eight points; fought for seven rebounds; blocked two shots and recorded two steals.
Sophomore Kay Leigh Miller was the thief for the Lady Cougar defense leading the team with five steals. She also served up four assists; grabbed two rebounds and scored one point for EA.
Gibson said his team’s performance was strong against an undefeated opponent. He added that the Lady Cougars will continue to improve their game and fix any issues that are holding them back.
The Lady Cougars next game is Jan. 3 at Pickens Academy. Tip off is at 6 p.m.