Brookhaven Academy’s varsity girls and boys teams hosted Newton County Academy Friday night, resulting in a pair of solid Cougar victories.

The Lady Cougars demolished the Lady Generals by a score of 65 to 28. The boys followed a similar path, outscoring the Generals by a score of 53 to 23.

Lady Cougars’ Cameron Watson said her team was sharper against Newton this time out after playing them earlier in the season.

“Tonight, we played a lot better. I was a little more relaxed this time,” she said.

The Lady Cougars finished the first quarter down 9-6, but Jana Case hit a three-pointer within seconds of the start of the second period. The shot led to a surge in BA momentum, and the ladies in blue carried a 33-16 lead into halftime.

BA came out of the locker room with the same energy and ended the third quarter ahead of NCA 51-24. The she-cats increased their massive lead in the fourth quarter to take home a whopping win over Newton, with a final score of 65-28.

“We knew what to expect, so we played like we knew we could,” said Kailyn Jordan. “I think I had a lot of confidence this time, more than I did last time.”

Case led BA with eighteen points. Macy Grace Smith, Jordan, Makayla Martin, Olivia Lewis and Natalie Rials followed with six, 10, eight, four and three points, respectively. Emily Claire Felder and Watson scored seven points each. Watson led the Lady Cougars in defensive play, with seven rebounds and four steals. Smith and Case both had six rebounds each. Martin and Julianna Crosby both had three rebounds, Jordan had two rebounds, and Felder had one rebound. Martin had two steals, while Smith, Jordan, Case, Crosby, Lewis, and Cassie White all had one steal each.

“I think we started the game a little sluggish,” said BA coach Jason Case. “We had those snow days and the vacation day on Monday, so we were out of practice for about four or five days. It really showed the first half.”

Kelli Hollingsworth had seven points to lead Newton County Academy.

There was no slow start or major adjustment in the boys’ game — the Cougars dominated the first quarter and rolled to the finish line easy.

The Cougars quickly took charge over the Generals, ending the first quarter with a score of 23-2. BA further increased their lead and headed into the locker room at halftime with the scoreboard reading 41-10, in their favor.

The Cougars escalated their lead over NCA with a score of 49-20 at the end of the third quarter. Brookhaven secured their enormous win over Newton with a final score of 53 to 23.

Cade Brown led BA with 15 points. Tanner Thurman and Jackson added nine and five points to the final score, respectively. Dawson Flowers and Ethan Nations both scored seven points each. Felder and Piker Ratliff each added three points, and Dawson Zumbro, Tanner Watts and Jackson Logan added two points a piece.

Brown led the Cougars in rebounds with six. Jackson, Thurman and Watts all had two rebounds, while Flowers, Britton Nelson, Ratliff and Logan had one rebound each. Flowers led the Cougars in steals with four. Nations and Ratliff both had two steals. Brown, Jackson, Zumbro and Nelson all had one steal of their own.

“We’re playing at home, so we probably played with a little more energy to begin with,” said BA coach Josh Watts.

Luke Alexander had eight points to lead Newton County Academy.

Brookhaven Academy will travel to Prentiss tonight and will host Clinton Christian on Friday. Junior high girls will tip off both games at 4 p.m.

The Little Dribblers will also be performing on Friday during halftime of the varsity girls’ game.

Story by Paden Phillips