By By Chandler Myers
Escambia Academy’s Lady Cougars ended their 2008-09 regular season on a sour note after dropping a 49-41 decision to the Fort Dale Academy Lady Eagles.
The Lady Cougars (7-13) fell to Fort Dale after a slow start in the beginnings of the first and second half.
In the first quarter, the Lady Eagles jumped ahead of the Lady Cougars by putting up 18 points and only giving up 13 to EA.
The second quarter was a little better for the Lady Cougars as they scored 10 points, and only allowed Fort Dale to add nine to their first half total.
As the teams entered their locker rooms the Lady Eagles led 27-23.
Lady Cougars head coach Heath Gibson said the team could not get back into the game because of turnovers.
After halftime, things did not improve for EA as they could barely get points on the board.
In the third quarter, the Lady Cougars continued to turn the ball over and only scored three points. The damage done was not too bad as their defense only gave up 6 to the Lady Eagles.
The final period of play proved to be the most competitive as the Lady Cougars started scoring again and added 15 points. The Lady Eagles still got the better of EA outscoring them with 16 points of their own, and walked away with an eight-point victory.
Gibson said the slow third quarter proved to be costly as well as free throw shooting.
Lady Cougars’ sophomores Amber Huskey and Taylor Helton paced the team.
Huskey led EA in points with 11, while Helton led the team in rebounds with 12. Huskey also had seven rebounds and one block. Helton posted 10 points, three blocks, three steals and one assist in the loss.
Sophomore KayLeigh Miller added nine points, four assists, four steals and two rebounds.
Senior Andrea Nall chipped in seven points for the Lady Cougars. Nall also had two rebounds and an assist.
Senior Malori McGhee and sophomore Kristen Matthews scored two points apiece. McGhee recorded two rebounds and a steal, while Matthews posted one assist.
The Lady Cougars next game is against Pickens Academy in the AISA regional tournament.