Even though the McKenzie girls lost to W.S. Neal on Monday night, head coach Ezell Powell said he’s seen a big improvement in their play over the last week.

He said that confidence has come around since a 34-22 win over Kinston last week.

“Since that win, we’ve had our confidence skyrocket,” Powell said. “It’s started with good defense.”

In that win over Kinston, Anna Howell scored 13 points and Aleshia Stuckey added 12.

The Tigers also had a 38-31 loss to Florala and Monday night’s 31-24 loss to W.S. Neal.

Neal led 16-15 at halftime and 25-22 after three quarters.

In the fourth period, the Eagles pulled ahead and managed to keep the ball out of McKenzie’s hands to keep the game out of reach.

Latoria Womack broke into double digits with 11 points.

“We’ve had a lot of young players step up and contribute off the bench,” Powell said. “That’s also helped us player better as of late. The entire team is playing with confidence, and that’s helping us stay in games. We’ve been a lot more physical these last three games.”