Robert Toombs Christian Academy's Varsity Girls Basketball team competed at Edmund Burke Academy's first annual Thanksgiving Tournament on Monday, November 22nd and Tuesday, November 23rd. RTCA took on Briarwood Academy but came up short 20-29. RTCA was down 23-9 going into the fourth quarter. The girls fought hard to battle back and got the score within five points with only a minute left in the game but had to keep fouling to keep the game going. Ultimately, they lost to Briarwood due to free throws late in the game. Sophomore Ansley Akins also scored six points and Emmie Davis had nine rebounds for the Lady Crusaders. "I am very proud of the girls' effort during this game. Briarwood was a top 5 team from last year with several returning players. They were bigger than us which allowed them to be better on the boards. We have to simply stop making easy turnovers and rebound better. We are still a young team and will continue to improve each game," states Head Coach Jacob Wilkinson.
The following day, the Lady Crusaders took on Edmund Burke Academy. The Lady Crusaders had a better game but still came up short losing 32-29. The Lady Crusaders played better defense and did a better job rebounding and far less turnovers. Freshman Meredith Durden scored seven points with nine rebounds. Sophomores Rachel Threlkeld had six points and Emmie Davis had 11 rebounds. Coach Jacob Wilkinson says, "I wanted the girls to be more aggressive on the offensive side and we did just that. The girls took open shots and didn't rush anything, we just didn't have all of our shots fall but that will come. We can defend with the best teams, we just have to make some of those easy shots and capitalize on our free throws, which we did the game before being 100% from the line. I'm very proud of everyone on our team. Being a young team, everyone has to get used to what we're doing this year which is a five and five rotation. I haven't done it before but as young as we are, I feel like it's the right direction for our program."
The Lady Crusaders have two big home games this week against two AAA schools, Trinity Christian Academy and Bulloch Academy. Tuesday at 6:00pm the Lady Crusaders will take on Trinity Christian and will host a Winter Meet the Players. Then on Friday, December 3rd, the Lady Crusaders will take on Bulloch Academy at 6:00pm. (Courtesy of RTCA)