The Escambia Academy Lady Cougars won a nailbiter over the Clarke Prep Lady Gators 43-41 on the road in Grove Hill last Friday.

The Lady Cougars earned the win with strong defense as the game never had any large leads.

In the first quarter, the Lady Cougars took a narrow lead outscoring the Lady Gators 7-6. They extended their lead to two points in the second quarter going on a 9-8 run to go into the break      leading 16-14.

The game stayed close in the second half with both teams swapping baskets for the final 16 minutes.

The Lady Gators took the advantage in the third period as they outscored the Lady Cougars 13-12 to move into the fourth quarter trailing by one.

Escambia Academy held on to their lead and earned the win beating the Lady Gators 15-14 in the fourth quarter to win 43-41.

Free throw shooting and defense were keys to the win, Lady Cougars head basketball coach David Walker said. Walker also cited the team’s poor shooting as they only made 29 percent of their shots.

“Grayson (Emmons) and Megan (Duncan) did a great job of hitting their foul shots in the fourth quarter,” he said. “We won this game on defense because we were really cold with our shooting.”

Emmons led the team with 22 points, while Duncan finished the match up with 10 points. Duncan finished the game with a double-double recording 15 rebounds.

Lady Cougar Lulu McGhee recorded nine of the team’s 46 rebounds in the win.

The Lady Cougars next game will be Friday on the road at South Choctaw Academy. Games begin at 4 p.m.