Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

Callaway High girls’ coach Albert Gilliam had hoped to return home with some momentum this week.

Before hitting the road for a pair of region games last weekend, the Lady Cavaliers had won three games in a row, and they were just a game out of second place in Region 5-AA.

Everything that had been going right went wrong on Friday and Saturday, though.

After dropping a 50-47 heartbreaker to Manchester on Friday, Callaway was beaten 50-39 by Lamar County one day later.

The Lamar County loss was especially galling for the Cavs.

Coming into the game, Lamar County had a 3-15 record, and it had won just one region game.

It was, Gilliam said, a costly lesson for the players.

“If you don’t come ready to play, then eventually you’ll look up, and the next thing you know, you’re leaving with a loss,” Gilliam said.

Hoping to build something positive in the second half, the Lady Cavs instead scored just three points in the third period, and although they played better in the fourth quarter, the deficit was too large.

“We just couldn’t do anything,” Gilliam said of the tough third quarter.

Despite the tough weekend, the Lady Cavs (9-7 overall) are still in good shape in the region with a 5-4 record.

Callaway is in fourth place in the region, although a couple of teams are close behind.

This will be a big week for the Lady Cavs with two region home games on tap.

Callaway hosts Spencer on Tuesday and Macon County on Saturday.

At 4-5, Spencer is just one game behind Callaway in the region.

“We have to get back at it and find a way to beat a good Spencer team,” Gilliam said. “We’ll have to go back to the drawing board and see what we can do.”

Callaway’s boys’ team ended a two-game losing streak with Saturday’s 58-35 win over Lamar County, and the Cavalliers (10-5, 6-3) will try to stay in fourth place in the region with a win over Spencer.

n LAGRANGE: The Grangers came within a whisker of pulling off a regular-season sweep of Shaw on Saturday.

Instead, the Grangers lost 63-59 , and Shaw added to its nearly flawless 19-1 record.

LaGrange head coach Mike Pauley loved the effort his players gave, saying “they laid everything out there.”

The Grangers (13-6 overall) are still very much in the race for the regular-season Region 2-AAA title, with a 5-2 record.

Shaw stands at 6-1.

On Tuesday, the Grangers will get a chance to avenge one of their two region losses when they host Kendrick.

Kendrick beat LaGrange on 83-82 on Jan. 9.

As for the Lady Grangers, it doesn’t get much easier for a team trying to get its season on track.

With Saturday’s loss to Shaw, the Lady Grangers (6-10 overall) are 2-5 in Region 2-AAA, and they’ll face defending state-champion Kendrick on Tuesday.

That will be the only game of the week for LaGrange’s teams.

TROUP: The Lady Tigers haven’t lost two games in a row this season, and they’ll try to keep that streak alive Tuesday when they visit Columbus High.

The Lady Tigers (11-6 overall, 4-3 in Region 2-AAA) are coming off a 68-43 loss to Northside on Saturday.

Troup returns home to host Carver on Friday.

In Columbus, Troup’s boys’ team will face the only region team it has beaten this season.

On Jan. 9, the Tigers beat the Blue Devils 48-42 to even their region record at 1-1.

Since then, Troup (5-12, 1-6) has lost five straight region games, although they’ve been competitive in each of the games.

Of the Tigers’ six losses, five of them have been by single digits, and four of them were by five points or less.

LAGRANGE ACADEMY: It will be a big week for LaGrange Academy’s basketball teams who are hoping to climb the ladder in GISA Region 4-AA.

LaGrange Academy visits Griffin Christian on Tuesday before hosting Arlington on Friday.

The Warriors (12-6 overall), at 5-4 in the region, will face teams in Griffin (6-3) and Arlington (9-1) who are ahead of them in the region standings.

The Lady Warriors (11-7, 6-3) shouldn’t have much trouble with Griffin Christian, which hasn’t won a region game this season, but Arlington will be a monumental challenge.

Arlington is unbeaten and ranked first in the state, and it beat LaGrange Academy 68-32 earlier.

DAWSON STREET CHRISTIAN: The Wildcats (10-3, 5-2 in GISA Region 4-A) will try to stay in contention for second place in the region this week.

The Cats visit Praise Academy on Tuesday before facing Lafayette Christian School on Friday.

LAFAYETTE CHRISTIAN: Both Lafayette teams are still looking for their first GISA Region 4-A wins of the season.

The boys’ teams will have three chances to make that happen this week, while the girls’ team plays twice.

Both teams are in action today against visiting Solid Rock Academy, and they’ll go on the road to face Praise Academy on Tuesday.

On Friday, it will be guys only since Dawson Street doesn’t have a girls team.