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AMERICUS – It was a very difficult night for the Southland Academy Lady Raiders (SAR), as they struggled offensively throughout the game. As a result, they were defeated by the Lady Warriors of Southwest Georgia Academy 45-25 on Monday, December 4, at the Melvin Kinslow Gymnasium.

“When we didn’t shoot the ball well, and they did, it was a tough sell from the get go,” SAR Head Coach Chip Champion said. “We’ve done some really good things to open up the year. Tonight just wasn’t our night.”

The Lady Raiders struggled early and fell behind 7-0 before Landry Hart finally put them on the board with a short jumper. Over the remaining minutes of the first quarter, SAR continued to struggle offensively and fell behind 15-6 by the quarter’s end.

Hart drilled a three-pointer from the corner to start the second quarter and that seemed to energize the Lady Raiders, as their defense picked up at the other end. However, they were still struggling to score and were struggling with turnovers against the tenacious defense of SGA.

Nevertheless, the Lady Raiders kept themselves within striking distance, as Hart nailed another three-pointer to bring SAR to within nine at 22-13.

However, the Lady Warriors went on a 7-4 run to close out the first half and the Lady Raiders trailed 29-17 at halftime.

Over the first two minutes of the third quarter, neither team could score until Gracie Burrell hit a short jumper to cut the Lady Raiders’ deficit to 10 at 29-19.

Over the remaining minutes of the third quarter, the Lady Raiders continued to struggle shooting the basketball and it allowed the Lady Warriors to maintain a 33-23 lead by the start of the fourth quarter.

While SAR tried its best to make a comeback in the fourth quarter, things did not change. The Lady Raiders continued to struggle scoring and would go on to lose to SGA by the score of 45-25.

Hart led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 10 points and Mary Beth Easterlin chipped in six in the losing cause.

The Lady Raiders (2-2) will travel up to Perry to take on Westfield on Thursday, December 7. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m.