By Cody Thomason
The Vicksburg Post

All throughout Friday night’s game, the Porter’s Chapel Academy Lady Eagles switched up their defensive schemes in an attempt to slow down Park Place Christian Academy.

Whether it was man-to-man or zone, nothing quite seemed to work.

Even though the offense scored consistently, the Lady Eagles weren’t able to make some crucial stops on defense to stay in the game. Park Place used a run in the second quarter to gain some separation, stretched its lead to 20 points in the third quarter, and went on to beat the Lady Eagles 68-41.

“We haven’t played man-to-man a lot, we haven’t played a 1-2-2 a lot, and they found our weakness in the middle a couple of times, dribbling by us in the man,” PCA coach Amanda Yocum said.

Gracie Felker had a big game on the inside for the Lady Eagles, scoring eight points and hauling in five rebounds.

Alexis Knott led Park Place with 18 points.

“Our inside girl Gracie, once we started running a little bit we had to get her out of there, get her a breather. That hurts. We lost some key rebounds there on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, so that hurt a little too,” Yocum said.

The Lady Eagles’ lack of size hurt their interior defense, but Rheagan Smith was able to help on the glass by pulling down four rebounds and scoring four points as well.

“We gave them a lot of second shots inside, and they shot very well in the first half from outside,” Yocum said. “To their credit, that’s really where they beat us offensively.”

The Lady Eagles shot 38 percent from the field and did a good job drawing fouls, with 15 points coming from the free throw line. Three players made three or more free throws in the game.

Another crucial part of PCA’s offense was Anna Grace White, as she added eight points, one assist and a steal on the defensive side.

“Anna Grace is a 10th grader. She’s young so she’s got some learning to do, just stuff like keeping her eyes up so she recognizes that double team and being able to jump,” Yocum said. “A few little things like that, if she continues to work hard she’ll get better at that.”

(B) Park Place 52, PCA 17

The Porter’s Chapel Academy boys were unable to break free of their slump. A buzzer beater 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter took the air shifted the momentum toward the Crusaders and sent them on their way.

“The second half of our season, we’re seeing open shots, and we’re missing open shots and we’re driving and missing layups,” PCA coach Chad Lessard said. “I think it’s inconsistency as far as playing as a team, I think that’s what’s been killing us. I think we went on Christmas break, took some time apart, and lost some chemistry, because we were flowing at the beginning of the season, averaging 50 points and making baskets. It may be that it’s the second stretch and we’re tired.”

Ten of the PCA’s 17 points came in the second half. Luke Yocum finished the game with six points and Glenn Alan Kittrell scored five.

“Sometimes, if we can hit them early, it sparks us, but we didn’t hit it early we hit it late,” Lessard said. “That spark late didn’t push us through to the end.”