The Eastside Lady Eagles fell in non-region play Saturday afternoon on the road at North Oconee, falling 54-46 to the Lady Titans.

The loss was the second for the Lady Eagles in as many nights after Eastside fell to rival Newton High last Friday.

The loss dropped Eastside to 6-3 overall and was the first true road loss for the Lady Eagles this season.

Jymara Smith led the Lady Eagles with 17 points, while Zaria Barton added nine in the loss.

Adriana Spears and Deja Saintilus finished with six rebounds apiece to lead Eastside.

“We didn’t play well the entire game,” Eastside coach Matthew Jackson said. “We have opportunities, but we missed too many layups and free throws that would have won us the game.”

Jackson said the Lady Eagles’ loss to Newton the previous night may have played a role in the poor performance, but didn’t want to blame his team’s lack of execution on the previous night’s loss.

“We had a hard game and we fought hard on Friday night,” Jackson said. “We went back and forth with Newton most of the night, but we ran out of steam.

“It was an emotional game on Friday and we didn’t come out with much energy Saturday,” he said. “I’m still proud of the girls and we’re looking forward to continuing to grow as a team.”

Eastside was again without leading scorer Jazzmine Cook, who missed her third game after sustaining an injury against Alcovy on Dec. 7.

“We’re hopeful she can come back soon,” Jackson said. “That’s 20 points, 10 rebounds and four or five steals that we’re missing. Without her, it’s hard to overcome and play up to our standard, but I’m confident that the girls will pull together.

“My expectations have not faltered and I still expect us to win and find that scoring from someone else on the team,” he said. “We just need everyone to step up.”

The Lady Eagles are 1-2 in Cook’s absence.

The Lady Eagles return to action after the holidays, traveling to the James McKithen Holiday Classic in Greene County to face Thomson on Dec. 27. The tournament will be held through Dec. 28 and includes Putnam County, Greene County, Cross Creek, Thompson and the Lady Eagles.

Boys win
After falling to rival Newton Friday night, the Eastside boys varsity basketball team bounced back in a big way Saturday, defeating North Oconee on the road 66-47.

Treyvon Francis led the Eagles with 27 points in the lopsided win, giving the Eagles their sixth victory of the season.

“Obviously we were disappointed in the results on Friday, but I thought we rebounded nicely and put that game in the rearview mirror,” Eastside coach Gregory Freeman said. “I have my guys conditioned to understand that winning or losing against Newton doesn’t make our season. At the end of the day, they can’t affect if we make it to the playoffs or affect our run for a championship. I thought they gathered themselves and played well.”

The loss dropped the Titans to 3-4 overall.

Freeman said that the Eagles’ defensive intensity again played a role in the win. Daniel Oduah led Eastside with eight blocked shots in the blowout.

“Defensively, we played well, and Treyvon played well because they allowed him to stay on the floor,” Freeman said.

The Eagles’ coach said that having a game the next day offered the Eagles a chance to bounce back quickly for the Newton loss.

“It was good we had a game the next night,” Freeman said. “It’s helped us forget about it already. I still want to see more production out of some of our guys. They know we need more from them.”

Anthony Henderson also finished with 13 points for the Eagles.

Eastside returns to action on Dec. 27 against Cross Creek at the Green County Holiday Tournament.