The Lady Eagles of East Jackson continue to look for a turnaround to what’s been a tough first half of the season. That turning point didn’t come last week, however, as East Jackson lost to North Oconee and to Fannin County, making them 4-10 overall and 0-3 in region play for the year.
The next chance for the Lady Eagles to get another check in the win column comes on Friday, as they play host to Jefferson.
The Lady Dragons are having their own struggles this year. Overall, they are 3-12, but they are 1-0 in region play going into Tuesday.
Tip-off Friday night at EJCHS is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Lady Eagles were hopeful that the first team that could help them out of their current slump would be the Lady Titans of North Oconee. But a strong North Oconee team took control of the game early, moving out to an 11-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. Things got worse for the Lady Eagles in the second quarter, as North Oconee held them to just five points, while they added ten more to their score to lead 21-13 at the half.
The Lady Eagles made a stern charge in the third quarter, holding North Oconee to seven points while they added 12. That cut the lead down to just three points, 28-25, at the end of the third quarter. But North Oconee was not to be denied, and turned up the heat to move out to a 44-35 lead and the win.
Leading scorers for the Lady Eagles included Autumn Wilbanks with 14, while Terin Gillespie and Callie Moore both scored six, and Shelby Johnson scored five.
Moore also had six rebounds, while Kaitlin Hill and Mikki McGinnis both had five. Moore had four steals, while Johnson had three.
“I saw a lot of improvement tonight,” said coach Amy Larimer. “We need to strive for consistency and putting together the performance that we know we can put together.”
The Lady Eagles next traveled to Fannin County to face the Lady Rebels. After falling behind 14-8 in the first quarter, East Jackson fought back to within a point, 28-27, by the half. The Lady Eagles continued to stay within shouting distance at the end of the third quarter, 34-33. But by the end, Fannin County had managed to pull out a larger lead, and came away with a 56-43 win.
“The final score does not depict the kind of game it was,” Larimer said.
Wilbanks led East Jackson in scoring with 19 points, while Johnson scored nine and Hill scored seven. Hill had nine rebounds, while Moore had six. McGinnis and Caroline Hicks had four each. Gillespie had five assists and Johnson had four steals on the game.
“I was very proud of how hard they played,” Larimer said. “They took a rough situation and made the best out of it. This is honestly the best game they’ve played all season. I really feel like things are coming together.
“We need to have a big week this week. Hopefully, how hard they played Friday will carry over into this week.”
The Lady Eagles were scheduled to travel to Oglethorpe County Tuesday for a match-up with the Lady Patriots. Results were unavailable at press time.
