Mack Gardner expects a lot from his seniors at FCAHS.
“We need the seniors to play well for us to have a chance,” Gardner said. “That’s their job. To play well every night.”
That group lived up to that expectation Tuesday night.
Jorden DuBose, Abby Ruffin and Landyn Lee combined to score 44 points as the Lady Aggies defeated rival Purvis, 60-44.
“I thought they did a good job tonight,” Gardner added. “We can celebrate this one tonight and come back to try and get better tomorrow.”
Although the final score might not indicate it, Purvis gave Gardner’s Lady Aggies some trouble early on, leading 18-12 at the end of the first quarter.
“The first half, we went through spurts where we just didn’t talk on defense,” Gardner said. “And we had too many unforced turnovers.”
FCAHS fought back in the second quarter, taking a 28-22 lead into halftime. From that point on, the Lady Aggies outscored the Lady Tornadoes 32-22 in pulling away for the win.
“I thought the girls played a good second half,” Gardner said. “I’m proud of the girls. They played hard and found a way to win.”
Jorden DuBose led FCAHS with 18 points, while Abby Ruffin finished a close second with 17. Landyn Lee added 9 for the Lady Aggies, who connected on a combined nine 3-pointers in the win.
“We shoot a lot of threes,” Gardner said. “We want to keep getting them in the paint and kicking it out. Or kicking it out after an offensive rebound.”
“We’re getting better. We’ve played a tough schedule and hope to be playing our best in January and February.”
Purvis, who fell to 5-3 with the loss, was led by Bree Lowe’s 16 points.
