MOULTRIE —
The Colquitt County girls basketball team was unable to stay on the boards in its 55-51 Region 1-AAAAA tournament semifinal loss to Valdosta on Thursday, but the Lady Packers rebounded with authority on Friday.
And the result was a 51-42 victory over Tift County that gives the Lady Packers No. 3 seed from region as it heads into the state tournament that begins next week.
Lady Packers coach Rondesha Williams said she expects to have to travel to Atlanta to meet Westlake in a first-round game.
The Lady Packers will take a 16-11 record into the tournament and none of the other losses were as difficult to deal with as the one to Valdosta on Friday.
The Lady Cats ran off the final 11 points of the third quarter to erase an eight-point Colquitt County lead and then outscored the Lady Packers in the closing moments.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Williams said Friday after the victory over Lady Devils. “I still think we are the best team in the region. I mean it.”
Colquitt defeated every team in the region, splitting with regular-season champion Lowndes and winning one of three against Valdosta.
The Lady Cats had the formula to knock off Colquitt County with three big girls in the front court.
“Rebounding is such a key to winning,” Williams said.
Tift County had no such height advantage and the Lady Packers were all over the boards, pulling down 35 rebounds.
Kenisha Seay had 14 of them. Natalie Griffin had nine.
“And we played Packer defense,” Williams said.
Again, Region 1-AAAAA Player of the Year candidate Makeba Ponder led the Lady Packers in scoring, putting up 24.
Seay had eight, Kwante’sha Love and Ja’nice Sailor each had five, Maranda Trim had four, Dezaray Fowler had three and Natalie Griffin had two.
The Lady Packers took all three meetings with the Tift County girls.
Despite the disappointing loss to Valdosta, Williams believes the Colquitt County program is headed in the right direction.
Some state tournament victories will help keep the momentum.
And Williams said an invitation she recently received asking her team to play in a tournament in Kentucky proves that the team’s success being noticed.
“We’re going to keep pounding at it,” she said.
Local Sports
Related Photos
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Colquitt County coach Rondesha Williams will take her Lady Packers north as the No. 3 seed from Region 1-AAAAA to open state tournament play next Friday. Connie Southwell
Discussion
Lady Pack beats Tift County to finish third in tournament
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