The Community R-6 girls were too fast on Friday and fell behind quickly.

Community R-6 vs Cairo Photo Gallery

In the regular season finale at home, the Lady Trojans lost 65-23 to Central Activities Conference rival and Class 1 No. 1 Cairo. Community trailed 23-5 after one quarter and were limited to single digit points in every quarter.

Before starting districts at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Madison against Wellsville-Middletown, Community (16-10, 6-4 CAC) had the chance to face the No. 1 seed in that district. The result was a bigger loss than the 55-32 defeat earlier in the season, and head coach Bob Curtis said the pace the Lady Trojans played was a big factor.

“We really ran with them too much,” Curtis said. “The first time, we did a better job of ball control and really slowed them down. They had less than 30 points at half. They’re too good offensively to let them have the ball that much. We really need to make them guard longer.”

Curtis admitted it is tricky to make Cairo (20-6, 10-0 CAC) guard for a long period of time due to the team’s full-court press. As soon as the Lady Bearcats had a lead, the press produced a 16-0 run, including four straight Community possessions that ended with turnovers before the Lady Trojans crossed midcourt. 

Community has a better team this season in slower and lower-scoring games, Curtis said, which was evident in the previous night’s 43-28 win at home against North Shelby. Peyton Beamer and Aaliyah Welch combined for 33 points but then, against Cairo, Beamer had eight points and Welch had five points. 

“We probably had more possessions that were 25-30 seconds long at their place,” Curtis said. “With a few minutes to go in the first half, it was 11-8 at their place. We have to have more of that pace.”

Macie Harman led Cairo with 18 points, including reaching 1,500 career points on her final bucket of the night. Addison Bailey finished with 14 points, and Olivia Cross had 10 points and four steals.

Beamer had five rebounds and three steals to go with eight points, which is how much Jocelyn Curtis scored. Community’s three field goals in the third quarter were the most it could manage against Cairo’s defense in this rematch.

Community would like another shot against Cairo, which is only possible if it advances all the way to the championship game in the Class 1 District 9 tournament in Madison. Curtis cautioned that a slower pace is necessary, not just on the court, but in the Lady Trojans’ preparation so they make a run, starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday against Wellsville-Middletown (6-20).

“Cairo will frustrate you so we’re not going to do that and take it one game at a time,” Curtis said. “We have Wellsville in the first round. We beat them in the fourth game of the year (45-21).”