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Escambia Academy’s boys and girls varsity basketball teams are heading to the AISA Class 1A Elite 8 Tournament this week.

The Lady Cougars defeated Crenshaw Christian 54-10 in the first round tonight, and the boys beat South Choctaw 84-19 Jan. 27 to win the region championship.

The boys will play the winner of North River-Cornerstone this Sat., Feb. 3, 2024, at 2 p.m. at home. The girls will visit North River on Fri., Feb. 2.

EA basketball coach Jerome Webster said the girls played a good CCA team, and they Luverne team is young just like the Lady Cougars.

“We’ve just got to take it one game at a time,” Webster said. “We’ve got two days to get prepared for North River.”

Escambia Academy’s Zy McNeal led the Lady Cougars with 24 points. India Lyons contributed with 10 points; Krislynn Lee added seven points; and Kate Davis scored six points.

The Lady Cougars enter the Elite 8 9-3 overall on the season.

On the boys’ region title win, Webster said the team worked quite hard to get in the position it’s in right now.

“They were a lot of mental toughness (challenges),” the coach said. “It takes a whole lot. It’s not over with. We’ve got three games left.”

The Cougars improved to 15-2 overall going into the postseason.