PREP NOTEBOOK: Pelham girls not discouraged by loss

The Pelham High School girls went to Lowndes on Tuesday and hung with the bigger school for most of the night before struggling in the fourth quarter and eventually losing 54-46. It was the Lady Hornets’ first loss of the season.

Despite dropping the game, Pelham coach Antonia Tookes saw encouraging things.

“It was a good loss,” Tookes said. “We lost to a (Class) 6A school that we are not even supposed to be able to compete with anyway. We went into a hostile environment and we didn’t play as well as we would have liked.”

The game against Lowndes was Pelham’s fifth in nine days, all of which were away. Tookes said she thinks that took a toll on her team.

“I believe that had more of a factor than anything else,” she said. “I think we just didn’t have enough energy to complete the task. We didn’t play well either. We missed a lot of free throws and we didn’t box out.”

Pelham will have a chance to recover from the loss when they jump back into region play against Brooks County on Saturday night. The Lady Hornets have not lost a region game in two years.

“We’ve got to be focused and ready to play because everybody in our region wants to beat us,” Tookes said. “We have a target on our back and there has been a target on our back since the beginning of the season.”

Dougherty looks to continue win streak

Entering the U-Save It Classic, the Dougherty boys had a record just under .500. They had beat Bainbridge early in the year but also lost three in a row.

Now, the Trojans have put together a four game win streak including going 3-0 in the U-Save It.

“There has been a lot of growth during the win streak,” Dougherty coach Ty Randolph said. “The guys understand the overall system and the style of play. A lot of times with kids, especially being young, it takes them a little while.”

Dougherty will look to continue the streak when they play Westover Friday night, then turn around and go to Worth County on Saturday.

“We’ve got to get better each day,” Randolph said. “This is not a sprint by any means. It’s a journey to get where you want to go.”

The Trojans will be looking to avenge an early-season loss to Worth County when they head to Sylvester Saturday night.

In the first meeting, the Trojans struggled to adjust to Worth bigs Anfernee McLemore and Brandon Harris. As the game progressed, Dougherty modified its game plan and eventually rallied before losing late.

“We’ve got to make a few adjustments in the way that we attack them offensively,” Randolph said. “I felt during the first game, it was really a game that could’ve gone either way at one point.”

This and That

In Worth County’s victory over Dougherty earlier this season, Moore had 19 points and McLemore had 18…Monroe is currently 9-4 this season. The Tornadoes host Chattahoochee County on Saturday night…Terrell Academy girls coach Keith Jones’ response to his team’s 35 turnovers on Tuesday night at Deerfield-Windsor — “You’re going to lose every ball game you play when that happens.”