The Alexander Cougars suffered their closest loss yet this season on Tuesday. They fell just short of East Paulding by a score of 42-40. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Alexander came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 175th, while East Paulding is ranked 381st).
Despite the defeat, Alexander had strong showings from Meghan Ritchie, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds, and Isabella Italiano, who scored 14 points along with six assists and three steals. Ritchie hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for three straight games. Nimah Ibidunni was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, Alexander smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
East Paulding found their leader in underclassman Janaya White, who scored 23 points along with seven steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points White has scored all season.
Alexander's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 8-7. As for East Paulding, their win bumped their record up to 3-12.
Alexander will look to defend their home court on Thursday against Langston Hughes at 6:00 p.m. Langston Hughes is coming into the game hot, having won their last 11 games. As for East Paulding, they will head out on the road to square off against South Paulding at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Hopefully South Paulding focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 34 on Tuesday.
