Grace Christian concluded its first full season of girls basketball with a 39-26 loss to Starkville Christian to finish with a 4-12 record.
“This is the very first year to have a girls basketball team. They tried to get started last year but only played four games,” said coach Talor Troyer.
Against Starkville Christian, the Lady Eagles rallied from a 16-8 halftime deficit to pull within one point in the third quarter before Starkville Christian pulled away. Caroline Robbins and Tamia Brewer had nine points each for Grace Christian.
Troyer noted the team’s improvement during the season. “We’ve come a long way. We went from a team that didn’t know the rules of the game and how to play to being competitive. We still were getting beat, but we weren’t getting beat by as much.”
She pointed out that Starkville Christian won an earlier matchup by 23 points.
Brewer was the leading scorer for the season while Robbins and Carley Paterson also played significant roles.
Looking ahead, Troyer is optimistic. “Because of how much progress we made, we are going to be better next year. They have really worked hard. They’re learning and they are getting better.”
Brewer is a senior, but key underclassmen include Robbins, a junior, Peterson, a freshman, sophomore Belle Hudson and junior Lia Morris.
BOYS
The Eagles pulled away in the third quarter behind the scoring of Alex Taylor for a season ending 54-45 victory over Starkville Christian.
Grace Christian led 23-19 at the half, then outscored Starkville Christian 18-9 during the third period. Taylor scored 12 of his fame high 24 points during the quarter. Asher Hogue and Zach Broyles had 10 point each for the Eagles.
Games with Amory Christian were cancelled due to a winter storm and will not be rescheduled.
