LAGRANGE – LaGrange Academy coach Mike Petite knew it had the potential to be a tough night for his team, and it was.

Facing a strong Heritage team, the LaGrange Academy Lady Warriors fell behind 29-2 after the first quarter, and they ended up losing 60-13 on their home floor.

LaGrange Academy, which fell to 1-8, won’t play again until Jan. 5 when it visits Heritage.

“We need the break,” Petite said. “We’ve played nine games already. Our girls are a little tired.”

The Lady Warriors have played a rugged schedule that includes numerous teams in a higher classification in GISA, including Heritage.

While the Lady Warriors have struggled in those games, Petite believes they’ll be able to compete with most of the other teams in Region 1-AA.

“Everytime we turn around, we’re playing schools that are bigger than us, with more kids than us,” Petite said. “When we get into our region schedule, we’ve gone through the tough games. That’s the whole thing we’ve been telling the girls. It doesn’t matter what these scores are. Tonight’s score doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.”

In Thursday’s game, LaGrange Academy had a hard time dealing with Heritage’s pressure defense.

“Our job was to handle the pressure, and try to execute,” Petite said. “That’s what we’re starting to see a lot of. The better we get at handling the pressure and executing, the better we’ll be.”

Heritage surged to a 29-2 lead after the first quarter, and the lead grew to 45-4 at the half.

The Lady Warriors scored nine of their 13 points in the third period, and they were unable to score any points in a fourth period that was shortened to six minutes.

Laney Anderson did almost all of the scoring for LaGrange Academy, scoring 11 of the team’s 13 points.

Kara Groomer led Heritage with 19 points.

Reach Kevin Eckleberry at (706) 884-7311 or on Twitter @lagrangesports