The Paris Lady Eagles continued to surprise their conference foes with yet another win, this time on the road at Hot Springs Fountain Lake. The Lady Eagles defeated Fountain Lake by a score of 50-35. The road win for Paris saw the Lady Eagles get off to a good start in the first half with 38-14 lead at halftime. Paris coach Dustin Williams commented, “Good first half , we were up 38-14 at the half. We held off a late push from Fountain Lake in the second half to win 50-35.” Harlie Watts led Paris with 19 points. Jacee Hart had 8 points as did Karsyn Tencleve, and Akira Robinson added 2 points.
Coach Williams commented on the progress his team continues to show with each game. “Second game in a row where we came out of the gate hot from behind the three-point arc. We played aggressive defense early and didn’t let Fountain Lake get set in their half-court offense. That led to a few points off of turnovers and transition baskets from our defensive pressure. I have to give Fountain Lake credit for never giving up. They fought back in the second half and our girls were able to protect the ball and secure enough defensive rebounds to put the game away. Our girls have now won six games in a row and seven out of their last eight.”
The Lady Eagles win improves their conference record to 4-3 and places them alone in fourth place in the conference, one game behind third place Jessieville. Paris hosts conference leader Lamar on Tuesday in another important conference match-up.
The Paris senior boys team took another hard loss, this time to Fountain Lake. The Eagles continued to play hard and entered the fourth quarter with the lead. Paris coach Mike Foster said after the game, “We led by two entering the fourth quarter. We played extremely well on defense against the top team in the conference. We just couldn’t get our offense going.” Nick Bazyk led Paris scorers with 21 points.
The Paris Eagles and Lady Eagles host Lamar on Tuesday, January 21 at Paris gymnasium. Stay with Resident Press for Paris Eagles basketball coverage!
Through the miracle of technology, I am reporting this story from Orange Beach, Alabama. I look forward to seeing all of you Monday night in Lamar as the Paris Junior Eagles and Lady Eagles play Lamar!
