By By Chandler Myers
Escambia Academy’s Lady Cougars bounced back from a tough road loss over the weekend to dominate the Monroe Academy Lady Volunteers 56-29 in Canoe on Monday.
The Lady Cougars (3-5, 0-1) picked up the victory, with overwhelming performances in all four quarters.
The Lady Cougars paced the first quarter outscoring the Lady Volunteers 13-10.
Sophomore guard Taylor Helton posted an important double double in the win. Helton scored 16 points, while pulling down 11 rebounds. She also had two steals and one assist.
Lady Cougars head coach Heath Gibson said Helton’s performance was her best of the season.
In the second quarter, the Lady Cougars extended their lead they outscored Monroe 17-7. Going into halftime, EA led 30-13.
Sophomores Amber Huskey and Kristen Mathews added to the scoring for the Lady Cougars as they each posted nine points. Huskey also recorded six rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals. Mathews notched two assists and a steal in the victory.
Gibson said his team did a great job of shooting the ball on Monday night.
After halftime, the results did not change much as the Lady Cougars continued to dominate Monroe on both sides of the court.
In the third quarter, EA scored nine points and only allowed the Lady Volunteers to put up five, which gave them a 39-22 lead going into the final period of play.
Sophomore Samantha Lee scored four points in the win, while recording two steals and an assist. Seniors Alaina Arnold and Malori McGhee scored four points each for the Lady Cougars. Arnold pulled down four rebounds, while recording two steals, two assists and one blocked shot. McGhee nabbed two steals and had two assists and two rebounds.
The final quarter proved to be just as huge as the rest were for the Lady Cougars. They scored 17 points and only gave up seven to Monroe. As the final buzzer sounded, EA celebrated their biggest win of the season.
Sophomores Kayleigh Miller and Rachel Fuller scored four points apiece in the Lady Cougars win. Miller pulled down three rebounds with two assists and two steals, while Fuller had two steals, one assist and one blocked shot.
Gibson said he wants the win to set the tone for his team as they begin area play and the second half of their season.
The Lady Cougars next game is on Friday in Canoe against Lowndes Academy. Tip off is at 6 p.m.
Pickens Acad. 45
Escambia Acad. 34
The Lady Cougars of Escambia Academy dropped their first area game of the season 45-34 to the Pickens Academy Lady Pirates on Saturday.
The Lady Cougars (2-5, 0-1) never had a lead or a hold on the game as they fell behind quickly to the Lady Pirates.
At the end of the first quarter, the Lady Pirates led 15-2 and took that lead into halftime up 32-7.
Lady Cougars head coach Heath Gibson said his team just did not have a game mentality in the first half.
After the break, the Lady Cougars found some life and were led by sophomore Amber Huskey, who scored 16 points, while pulling down eight boards, two blocks, one steal and one assist.
Sophomore Kristen Mathews added eight points for EA and had two rebounds, two assists and one steal in the loss. Senior Sara Beth Davis led the team in rebounds with 12 and posted two points, two blocks and one steal.
At the end of the third period, Pickens led the Academy 42- 20. The Lady Cougar put up a strong comeback in the final quarter and scored 14 points and only allowed three.
Sophomores Rachel Fuller and Carlie Braughton scored two points each. Fuller had two assists, one steal and one rebound, while Braughton had three rebounds and one steal. Seniors Andrea Nall and Malori McGhee added two points for the Lady Cougars. Nall recorded two assists, two rebounds and one steal. McGhee nabbed four steals and had one assist.
Gibson said his team needs to do better shooting the ball because their lack of scoring cost them the game.