EAST JACKSON’S girls hope to snap a three-game skid Friday at home against what’s been a downtrodden Oglethorpe County program.
The Lady Patriots (1-6) — who have won just once since the 2008-2009 season —suffered through a 0-24 season last year after going 0-21 the year before.
Following that game, East Jackson (1-6, 0-1) seeks a little revenge Tuesday in non-region action against a Hebron Christian Academy team that handed the Lady Eagles a 41-30 loss Nov. 22.
East Jackson’s Christmas tournament follows Dec. 28-30.
“We’re looking at our schedule and hoping for a little streak here,” coach Katie David said.
East Jackson had this past Tuesday off following a 43-24 setback loss to undefeated Apalachee (5-0) Saturday. Taylor Patrick and Kelsey Palette each scored seven points to lead the Lady Eagles on a sparse offensive night.
East Jackson had just played a tight contest against Hart County less than 24 hours earlier in its subregion opener.
“Yeah, the wind was out of our sails at little bit, and Apalachee looked pretty good,” David said.
The coach noted that Apalachee returned two of its post players for this game.
“Those girls are good and they’re really big,” David said. “They just controlled the boards and chipped away at us.”
The Lady Eagles faced a manageable 25-15 halftime deficit but went cold offensively in the second half, scoring just nine points.
Patrick provided East Jackson’s lone basket in the third quarter as the Lady Eagles fell behind 35-17 heading into the final period.
East Jackson couldn’t find much more offense in the fourth quarter as it trailed by as much as 22.
“We had a hard time scoring inside,” David said of the contest.
East Jackson lost to Hart County, 56-45, a night earlier in a game much closer than the 11-point final score might indicate. David’s team trailed by just one point with seven minutes left in that matchup.
The Lady Eagles led 12-8 after a quarter over Hart County, but the Lady Bulldogs took a 25-24 lead at the half. East Jackson could have easily led at the half, but the Lady Eagles missed a breakaway basket in the waning seconds and Hart County responded with a buzzer-beating three.
David said her team did a good job of handling the ball and managing Hart County’s press.
The Lady Bulldogs, however, outscored East Jackson 31-21 in the second half.
“In the fourth quarter, they hit some really big shots,” David said, adding that Hart County “wore us down a little bit” late in the game.
Hydeia Rucker scored a season-high 12 points to lead East Jackson while Patrick added 11.
