One of the big goals during the current phase of rebuilding Porter’s Chapel Academy’s girls’ basketball program has been learning how to handle a full court press. The Lady Eagles work on it nearly every day in practice, and on Friday night they got a healthy dose of it in a game situation against Clinton Christian.

They held their own for a while, but eventually wore down and gave out. Clinton Christian used a couple of big runs to gain some separation, and then turned a close game into a rout in the fourth quarter on its way to a 58-31 victory.

“Up until this point, we see the press until somebody is up 10 or 12 and then they back off. They were pressing pretty regularly, and we were breaking it for the most part. We were making our layups once we got our girls inside. Where you make up some points is with your outside shots, and we didn’t do that tonight,” PCA coach Amanda Yocum said. “We were rebounding and going back up. If we can get consistent going up inside as well as outside, that’s where we can make up 10 or 12 or 15 points and keep us in a ballgame.”

Maggie Bryson scored a game-high 20 points for Clinton Christian, with 18 of those coming in the first half. Callie Abraham scored 13 points and Abby Allen added eight.

Rheagan Smith led PCA (5-9) with 14 points and Gracie Felker scored eight. Despite the loss, the Lady Eagles are headed into the Christmas break having already reached their highest win total in nearly a decade.

PCA will play in the Amite School Center tournament Dec. 28 and 29, and then its District 3-AAA opener is Jan. 4 against crosstown rival St. Aloysius.

“I feel like we go out on a good note tonight. I know it’s a loss, but if you know where we came from and seeing us break a press like that, seeing us pass the ball well, really working like we were supposed to, everybody contributing, that makes me feel pretty good going into the Christmas break,” Yocum said.

Although Friday’s game wound up getting out of hand, Porter’s Chapel stayed within striking distance for three quarters. Clinton Christian used an 8-0 run late in the first quarter to take a 17-10 lead, and the margin stayed between five and 10 points until the fourth quarter.

Finally, the Lady Warriors’ depth and steady pressure wore PCA down. They turned a nine-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter into a 48-31 advantage with 4:50 to play. A basket by Smith early in the period was the only one PCA got, as Clinton Christian outscored the Lady Eagles 20-2 over the last eight minutes.

“I think it started the last two minutes of the third. Instead of passing, which is the way you break a press, we started dribbling a little more than what we had been and we turned it over two or three times,” Yocum said. “We gave them a quick six or eight points right there, and I think that’s where it got away.”

In the boys’ game, Clinton Christian beat PCA 77-29.

The Eagles (6-5) had won their previous game, 47-27 over Franklin Academy on Thursday night.