By Wil Crews
sportscrews@opelikaobserver.com
The regular seasons of high school basketball teams across Alabama are nearing an end, and the Lee-Scott Academy Varsity Boys and Girls teams are shaping up for AISA Class AAA postseason play.
The varsity boys returned from a 13-day coronavirus-induced quarantine to lose 72-50 at Glenwood on Monday night. The rust definitely showed early as LSA fell into a 14-0 hole in the first quarter.
After that, however, LSA played with Glenwood and was outscored by only eight for the rest of the contest. The loss means the Warriors are no longer undefeated in area play and puts Glenwood in pole position for the No.1 seed in the area. The good news is LSA has a chance to avenge its loss on Thursday as the two teams meet again, this time at Lee-Scott. The Warriors played Chambers Academy in an out-of-area contest on Tuesday night, but results were not available at press time.
While the LSA boys enjoyed a less-than-triumphant return from their two-week hiatus, the LSA Varsity Girls team has been going through some growing pains. On Jan. 14, the Lady Warriors fell to Glenwood, 58-34 after the Gators stretched their lead to double digits and dominated for most of the second half.
When the two teams met three days later the results were similar.
The Lady Warriors played much better, however, rebounding and defending with more purpose as they fell 39-30. The win secured the area for Glenwood and locked the varsity girls into the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
Next, having already beaten them at home earlier in the season, the Lady Warriors had a rematch against Edgewood on the road last Friday night. The highly contested game went to double overtime as both teams battled for an edge until the very end. The Lady Warriors came out on top 41-36, to get some much-needed confidence and momentum.
“Our team has grown up so much from the beginning of the year,” LSA Varsity Girl’s Coach Corye Ivatt said. “We are getting better and better and I keep telling them the best is yet to come. We have to continue to work hard and learn from the past games to make improvements in our upcoming games.”
The AISA Class AAA state tournament begins on Feb. 1 for the girls and Feb. 2 for the boys. The LSA Varsity Boys are still vying for the No. 1 seed in the area. If they finish No. 1, LSA will have a bye, placing them directly into the AISA Class AAA Elite Eight on Feb. 9. If they finish No. 2 in the area, LSA will face off against Vallant on Feb. 2. The Varsity Girls are locked into the No. 2 spot in the area but will have a first-round bye and face Clarke Prep on Feb. 8 in the Elite Eight.