Alabama Christian traveled to Highland Home Friday and came away with a win and a loss on the night. The Lady Eagles won a close game for the second night in a row with a 35-32 victory to even their record to 5-5. In the second game, ACA lost to to the Flying Squadron 60-67 and fell to 3-5 on the season.
In the opener, both teams struggled to get the offense clicking as ACA and Highland Home committed turnovers on seven of the first eight possessions of the game. The Lady Squadron found their rhythm first and held a 13-4 advantage after the first quarter. ACA began the second quarter with an 8-0 run to cut the Squadron lead to one. Michaelyn Manning sparked the offense as she scored six of the Eagle’s eight points in the quarter. Highland Home scored the last four points of the quarter and took a 17-12 lead at halftime. Alabama Christian turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and Highland Home responded by turning the ball over 12 times over the final two quarters. Sarah Johnson’s field goal with a minute remaining in the third quarter gave ACA a 21-20 lead. The basket was the last points of a 9-0 run that gave the Eagles the lead for good on the night. ACA built a nine point lead in the final quarter, but struggled closing out Highland Home at the end of the game. The Squadron pulled to within one point with 90 seconds remaining, but Alabama Christian held their opponent off and came home with the win. Sarah Johnson scored 10 points with three steals and Michaelyn Manning had 10 points also with eight steals and four assists. Rose Costanza added six points, six rebounds and three steals.
In the second varsity game of the evening, ACA had to contend with Highland Home’s freshman center and were unable to overcome his size and power in the paint. The Eagles kept the game close and even led 53-52 early in the fourth quarter. Highland Home outscored the Eagles 15-7 over the final five minutes of the game to secure the win. Jalen Clark had an outstanding performance as he scored a game high 28 points with eight rebounds and three steals. Caden Perry had 16 points with three rebounds. both Clark and Perry knocked down a trio of 3 pointers on the night. Avery Stuart added nine points and seven rebounds.
ACA faces off against Capital City Conference foe Saint James in their next contest Tuesday night.