Their teams were struggling to overcome early-season injuries, and it showed in a first half where each side had just four made field goals apiece.

Athens Drive was hoping to find the right chemistry with one starter just returning from a concussion and another still out for the same reason. The visiting Bengals, down to just seven healthy players, were just trying to hold everything together as two players are out with ACL tears and two more sat out for school-related reasons.

The Jaguars (2-7, 2-3 Tri-Nine) seemingly handed over two things to Fuquay on Thursday – a 40-36 loss, and a full-blown case of bad luck.

“We (once) dropped four girls in one game,” Daly said of his team’s start of the season where he lost two to injury and two more to academics. “We’re young and we don’t have our chemistry yet because of so many lineup changes.”

Fuquay coach Monte Bullock can relate.

His Bengals (1-7, 1-5) are now six players short of where they thought they’d be to start the year, and it’s completely changed his approach to each game.

“We started the season trying to push the ball, and then when you lose six girls you have to change gears,” Bullock said. “I know it’s not the most fun brand of basketball to watch or to play, but if we want a chance to win, we have to slow it down and clamp down defensively.”

Daly, who used his fifth different starting lineup in five games, has enjoyed getting back senior Megan Gorman from her concussion in the season’s third game. Gorman had game-highs in points (16) and rebounds (14) to pace the Jaguars.

For only her third game back in action, the senior had a noticeable connection with junior point guard Brisha Gilbert.

Gilbert had the assist on five of Gorman’s eight made baskets.

“Brisha’s like my little sister. We read each other,” Gorman said. “It’s just a lot of fun playing with her. We’ve got that connection.”

Fuquay was led by senior Curisa Johnson, who had 14 points. Johnson converted two and-one situations late in the fourth to pull Fuquay back late in the final period. But the 10-2 Athens run during the early stages of the fourth quarter was too much for a depleted Bengals team to overcome.”

“Our tired legs showed in the first part of the fourth quarter in the little run they made,” Bullock said.

It was the second straight narrow win for Athens, which was coming off a 37-36 defeat of Apex. That’s some reason for optimism in a season that so far has been short on wins and long on adversity.

“If we can stay healthy and get our academics under wraps, which has been another issue, we can start putting some chemistry together, and we’ll see,” Daly said. “We really want to try to fight for that fifth spot and get a chance to play in state playoffs.”