Straughn girls coach Scott Kinsaul said he knows the next two ball games his team will play will be against the two best teams on the schedule.

The Lady Tigers, who improved to 14-4 on the season after a close 40-38 area win over Headland on Tuesday night, will play host to Class 1A Brantley tonight in regular season play, and will play against rival Andalusia next week in area action.

“I know these next two ball games will be two of the best ball teams we’ve played all year,” Kinsaul said. “Brantley beat (defending Class 1A state champion J.F.) Shields (58-47) the other night, so obviously they’re playing well.

“Andalusia’s a very good basketball team,” he added. “We’ve got our work cut out for us in these next two ball games.”

On the Headland game the other night, Kinsaul said the girls didn’t “quit.”

“We were down the whole ball game,” he said. “We kept fighting back. Our defense really won it for us. They only scored 12 points in the second half. We just kept fighting back, and finally we tied it there and went ahead. We executed down in the end to deserve the win. I feel pleased that they came back and didn’t quit.”

Currently, second-ranked Brantley is sitting at 15-3 on the season, and ninth-ranked Andalusia is 15-4 overall, and 3-0 in Class 4A, Area 3.

Kinsaul said Eisha Person isn’t the only player the Lady Tigers are worried about in tonight’s game.

“It’s not just Person,” he said. “They’re pretty well-balanced. They’ve got a good girl on the inside. I know they’ve got some other shooters around the outside. If they get hot, then they can beat you.”

For Andalusia, junior guard Alexis Horton and senior guard Shi’Amber Townsend lead the Lady Bulldogs in points per game. Horton averages 17.6 points, while Townsend averages 16.5 points.

Controlling the tempo of the games, and not turning the ball over are the two main keys for Straughn, Kinsaul said.

“We’ve come a long way this year,” he said. “Against these next two teams we’ll see what we can do.”

Additionally, Kinsaul said he is looking for the whole team to play well against Brantley and Andalusia.

“I don’t think any of them are satisfied with the way they’re playing,” Kinsaul said. “So, we’re looking for all of them to step up their game and continue to get better.”