Steve Mackin paused for a moment, then looked straight down at the ground as if he were searching for answers.

Mackin hunted for anything positive following his Central Christian School Lady Warriors’ 56-8 thrashing at the hands of Shelby Academy, Friday night at the CCA gym.

What did Mackin find?

“Absolutely nothing,” he said. “There’s nothing positive I can take away from this game.”

Just three days after clinching a berth into the sub-regional tournament with a victory over East Memorial, the Lady Warriors showed there is still much to do in preparation for the postseason. Central Christian turned the ball over 28 times and went scoreless for three periods, including the entire second half. Shelby Academy outscored the Lady Warriors 27-0 after halftime.

But the visitors’ dominance began from the opening tip. In fact, Shelby Academy scored the first 17 points of the game.

The Lady Warriors did not tally their first points until Tiffany Brown drained a 12-foot jump shot with 4:07 remaining in the first half.

“We passed the ball into double coverage and we had girls get into foul trouble early,” Mackin said. “For some reason we can’t find an open person on the court because we’re too busy passing the ball.”

The Lady Warriors at times seemed hesitant to make an aggressive move toward the basket or even take a shot – that is, when they were able to get close enough to take a shot.

In fact, Shelby Academy had more points in the first period (13) than Central Christian had trips across mid-court (7).

Six of the Lady Warriors eight points in the first half came in a minute-and-a-half span. Brown’s jumper was followed by 15-footer from Tamara Stacey.

After a quick basket by Shelton Academy, Trisha Stacey sank a baseline jumper to make it 21-6.

The Lady Warriors went cold again until just before halftime, when Tamara Stacey’s inbounds pass found Ashley Buxton, who sank a jumper from the left wing to make it 27-8.

It would be the last points Central Christian would score.

Shelby Academy took advantage of numerous fast-break opportunities in the third period.

Forward Kaylee Lumpkin pulled down a defensive rebound and sent a court-long pass to a wide open Kendra Bristow for the easy lay-in and a 35-8 lead.

After another CCA miss, Ashley Heppers found Bristow again wide open for a lay-up to make it 40-8.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Mackin said. “We’re going to try and get better.

“All we can do is try to stay positive and continue to work hard,” Mackin added. “We have to stay positive.”