By By Chandler Myers
The Lady Cougars of Canoe started as the No. 2 seed of the AISA Region 2 tournament last week and No. 2 is where they finished.
Escambia Academy was defeated by the No. 1 seed Pickens Academy Pirates at Marion Military Institute. After a tough first-half battle, the Lady Cougars fell behind in the second half to lose 57-44.
Lady Cougars Head Coach Heath Gibson said his team fought hard against a good Pickens team.
The Lady Cougars (20-6) fought their way to a one-point halftime lead early with each team struggling with the others defense.
In the first quarter, the Lady Cougars and Lady Pirates swapped points as they played to a 12-12 draw.
The Lady Cougars pushed ahead of the Lady Pirates in the second period as they outscored the No. 1 seed 17-16.
At halftime, EA led 29-28.
Following halftime, the Lady Pirates were able to adjust and keep the Lady Cougars atbay.
In the third quarter, the Lady Cougars were unable to continue their strong offense as they only scored four points, while the Lady Pirates gained the momentum and scored 11.
The Lady Pirates were able to hold their lead in the fourth quarter as they extended their lead to 13 as they added 18 to the scoreboard with the Lady Cougars only gaining 11.
With the final buzzer, the Lady Pirates moved on to the AISA Elite Eight as the AISA Region 2 champions and the Lady Cougars as the runners-up.
Lady Cougars senior center Jordan Jaye led the team with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Jaye also recorded two steals, one block and an assist.
Junior forward Amber Huskey added nine points for the Lady Cougars to go along with 10 rebounds and four steals.
Lady Cougars junior guard Rachel Fuller finished the game with seven points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Kay Leigh Miller, a senior guard for the Lady Cougars, scored five points in the championship. Miller also recorded three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Eighth grade guard Grayson Emmons scored four points, dished out three assists, pulled down two boards and stole a pass in the loss.
Senior Kristen Matthews and eighth grader Lacie Flowers each scored two points. Matthews added two assists and a rebound, while Flowers recorded two assists, one steal and a rebound.
Lady Cougars eighth grade guard Lulu McGhee scored one point.
The Lady Cougars will face the Autauga Lady Generals Friday at noon at Huntingdon college in Montgomery.
Lady Cougars 55
Lady Saints 54
Escambia Academy’s Lady Cougars advanced to the finals of the AISA Region 2 tournament Friday with a 55-54 victory over the Patrician Lady Saints at Marion Military Institute.
The Lady Cougars’ (20-5) road to victory was not easy as they had to overcome an 11-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.
Gibson said the pressure his team applied proved to be the difference in the win.
In the first quarter, the Lady Cougars outscored the Lady Saints 14-10 and went into halftime ahead 27-26 after the Lady Saints outscored them 16-13 in the second period.
After the break, the Lady Saints found some momentum and pushed their way ahead of Escambia Academy taking an 11-point advantage into the beginning of the final period.
The Lady Saints’ defense suffocated the Lady Cougars offense in the third quarter as they were able to outscore EA 18-6.
The Lady Cougars tightened up in their press defense and turned turnovers into points as they took the lead with just more than a minute to play in the game.
With a 22-point effort in the fourth quarter, the Lady Cougars were able to push past the Lady Saints as they only scored 10 in the final period.
The 55-54 win sent the Lady Cougars to the finals against the Pickens Lady Pirates.
Lady Cougars post players Amber Huskey and Jordan Jaye led the team with 17 points each. Huskey also recorded 11 rebounds, five steals and a block, while Jaye added 10 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals.
Senior guard Kay Leigh Miller added eight points with four steals, three rebounds and three assists.
Eight grade guard Grayson Emmons scored seven points to go along with three assists, three steals and two rebounds.
Junior guard Rachel Fuller scored four points for the Lady Cougars with two rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Senior forward Carlie Broughton scored two points and recorded two rebounds.
Lady Cougars 56
Lady Trojans 41
Early foul trouble plagued the Lady Cougars of Canoe, but adjustments at halftime allowed them to ease into the second round of the region tournament with a 56-41 win over the Meadowview Lady Trojans Thursday at Marion Military Institute.
The Lady Cougars (19-5) and Lady Trojans played a tight game for three quarters before the Lady Cougars wore them down in the second half.
Lady Cougars Head Coach Heath Gibson said conditioning proved to be a deciding factor in the win.
In the first half, the Lady Cougars were able to open a slim lead on the Lady Trojans as they outscored them 11-10 in the first quarter and 13-10 in the second quarter.
At halftime, the Lady Cougars held onto a 24-20 lead.
In the second half, the Lady Cougars were able to hold their lead and built on it in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Trojans outscored the Lady Cougars 12-11 in the third quarter, but EA pulled away in the final period with 19 points to the Lady Trojan’s nine to make it to the semifinals of the regional tournament.
Junior forward Amber Huskey led the Lady Cougars with 18 points and 11 rebounds. She also had seven steals, a block and an assist.
Senior center Jordan Jaye added 12 points with eight rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist.