The Pike County Lady Bulldogs once again struggled offensively on Tuesday fell to Abbeville 59-28.

For Coach Todd Reynolds and the extremely young Lady Bulldogs it was more proof that the rebuilding process is a work in progress.

“We are very poor knowledge basketball team,” Reynolds said. “Every moment is a teachable moment. I can’t let my guard down for one single moment because there is always something.”

The Bulldogs tried to find an offensive spark by throwing up as many shots as possible.

“Like we said in the beginning, we are taking baby steps,” Reynolds said. “We missed like eight million free throws. I tell them to be aggressive, but there isn’t any payoff if you can’t make your free throws.”

That wasn’t a problem or the Yellow Jackets, who converted 12 of 15 free throws in the first half. “We want to make teams play aggressive and make them earn it at the free throw line,” Reynolds said.

At the same time, the Lady Bulldogs struggled to protect the ball. “We just haven’t been very good at protecting the ball because of our age. We are just still dealing without a lot of maturity,” Reynolds said.

Abbeville carried a 37-12 lead into the locker room at halftime. Precious Vaznian and Sha’Quavia McKinney made key plays for the Bulldogs, scoring seven and three points. Demetria Gilbert scored the only two points in the half.

“One of the lessons we try to teach them is not to give up,” Reynolds said. “It’s there, but at the same time I can’t make a shot for them. I can’t make one free throw. All I can do is teach them what to do.”

The Bulldogs out scored the Yellow Jackets 12-6 in the third period, thanks in large part Na’Keiya McClain’s seven points.

Trailing the Yellow Jackets 47-24 heading into the fourth quarter, the Lady Bulldogs were only able to manage four points in the final quarter.

Vaznian led the Bulldogs with 10 points on the evening.

“She is a varsity caliber point guard,” Reynolds said. “We need to find other components to work with her. That is the challenge.

McClain finished the game with seven points.

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to take on Carroll in a matchup that features two teams from different areas.