Lady Cougars Add Another Win
Piedmont Academy’s varsity girls basketball team remained undefeated in region play with a 74-63 road win against John Milledge Academy.
The Lady Cougars (15-3 overall, 3-0 in region) got another standout performance from Marissa Holder. The senior scored 29 points and had 11 rebounds, 11 steals, six assists and one block.
Sarah Ellen Stroud finished with 22 points, five assists and two steals while Kylee Keck scored 12 points and had five assists, two steals, two rebounds and a block.
The game was competitive throughout but Piedmont used a 19-9 run in the third quarter to help secure the win.
Taylor Jenkins finished with four points, two rebounds, one steal and one block while Teagan Hinson scored seven points and pulled down two boards.
Payton Whitefield had two rebounds.
“It’s always nice going to JMA and getting a win,” said Coach Michael WIlson. “It makes it twice as sweet when it counts as a road region win. Those aren’t easy to get but we were able to get it done. We are really doing a great job of limiting our turnovers and that played a large part in our win. We didn’t really rebound very well against them and to be able to finish a game with nine turnovers is imperative when that happens. You can’t lose possessions and expect to win.”
In addition, the coach said his players have to continue valuing the basketball but we also have to commit to rebounding better because that will bite us sooner rather than later.
“We’ve got a critical stretch coming up,’ Wilson said. “With the weather becoming a factor, we have a week of really big road games ahead of us.”
School was cancelled Tuesday and Wednesday due to winter weather causing the upcoming schedule to be adjusted.
“We will play at FPD and Stratford next week and that won’t be easy,” Wilson said. “They are two well coached and tough teams and to have them on the road in the same week is a challenge. We just have to control what we can control. I’ve been telling the girls not to expect the calls we think we should get and to only focus on what we can control.”
The coach said his team needs to have a certain level of confidence.
“We have to play with a chip on our shoulder,” Wilson said. “These are new teams for us and one thing we have felt is that our opponents, their fans and even road refs are not really familiar with us and how we play and to what level we play.
“We need to play our game at our speed. We are going to push these teams to play our tempo and we think we are in the best shape of any team in the state. I think that’s the biggest advantage we can give ourselves because offensively we have the ability to score better than the rest. They play really good defense overall and if we get into a half court game it will make it much more difficult for us to be successful.”
Piedmont will play at Tattnall Square on Friday (6 p.m.) and at Mount de Sales on Saturday (2 p.m.) The Lady Cougars will be in Macon against First Presbyterian on Monday (6 p.m.) and at home against Mount de Sales on Wednesday (6 p.m.)
The Lady Cougars go back to Macon on January 31 against Stratford Academy.
“We need to shoot the basketball and stay aggressive,” Wilson said. “I am a firm believer that when we get our 30-35 three-point attempts up in a game we are a big problem for any team because so few teams can match us in our proficiency. Trading two-point baskets for three pointers wears on a team and gets them playing our style and the girls are confident with our game.”
It will also be a chance for Piedmont to show they can compete against the Macon schools.
“We need to remember who we are and what we’ve accomplished,” Wilson said. “We believe we are one of the top two or three teams in GIAA and we aren’t sure our new region mates in Macon see us in that tier. It’s served as some motivation for all of us and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. We want the number one seed in the region tournament and this week will go a long way in making that happen. It’s important we focus on our jobs and work collectively to continue to do what we have been doing the last few years.”