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They fought hard Friday night, diving on the floor for loose balls, battling for rebounds and trying every way possible to hit a shot. And while the final score wasn’t what the Lady Eagles had hoped for, the season isn’t over yet. 

To steal a quote from T.D. Jakes, a setback is nothing but a setup for a comeback. The Prince Edward Lady Eagles lost Friday night to John Marshall High 68-43 in the Class 2 Region A championship, but as mentioned above, that’s not the end of the story. In the Virginia High School League, the top two teams from each region advance to the state playoffs. By simply making it to the regional championship, the girls had guaranteed their season would keep going. Right now, they just don’t know where they’ll be traveling. 

Under the VHSL guidelines, the second team from Region A plays the champion from Region B in the first round of the state playoffs. Prince Edward will be Team No. 2 from Region A, of course. But we’ve got to wait until Saturday night before we learn who the Region B champion will be. That game, which doesn’t tip until 6 p.m., is between Clarke County High and Stuarts Draft High, which is in Augusta County. So it’ll either be an hour and a half trip to Stuarts Draft or a more than three hour trip to Clarke County High. Prince Edward Coach Howard Paras said he was proud of how his team fought on Friday. Now it’s time to do the same as the rest of the season. Move on, taking it one game at a time. 

“The girls played hard, we just got matched up against a very good team,” Paras said after Friday’s game. “We are going to try to get back on track Tuesday.” 

Looking back on the Lady Eagles game 

John Marshall High came out swinging Friday night, exploding to a 44-21 lead by halftime. Prince Edward High bounced back in the third quarter, scoring 20 points to John Marshall’s 14. But the Lady Eagles struggled in the fourth, only putting up two points compared to 10 from the visiting team. 

On the night, Anysha Clark and Jayla Boyd led the Lady Eagles with 11 points each. Keshawna Peaks added 6, Aliyah Rachels had 5, Maddie Tillerson and Kyla Barksdale both had 4, with 2 from Isabella Arbetelle and 1 from Kamiya Killibrew. 

Even with Friday’s  loss, the Lady Eagles will head into the state playoffs with a record of 25-1 on the season. Both teams they could be facing have had great seasons leading up to this point. Clarke County High goes into Saturday’s regional championship at 22-4, while Draft is 20-4.