MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County girls basketball team heads into today’s state tournament opener at Morrow High with a roster full of healthy players and a victory in its last game of the Region 1-AAAAA tournament.

Although the Lady Packers must travel to Clayton County to open state tournament play at 4 p.m. today, they are in better condition than their hosts.

The 24-3 and No. 3 ranked Lady Mustangs head into the contest coming off a loss in the Region 2-AAAAA tournament championship game and will be without two its starters.

Jordan Greenleaf, who signed with Auburn before the season started and who scored 43 points in the Lady Mustangs regular-season finale, was held out of the region tournament for disciplinary reasons and is not expected to play against the Lady Packers today.

Point guard Angie Smith also is not likely to play today after undergoing minor surgery after being inadvertently hit in the face by teammate Temperance Jacobs’ elbow in the Lady Mustangs region tournament semifinal victory over Douglass

Smith, also a senior, also sat out Morrow’s region tournament championship game loss to Stephenson.

Lady Packers coach Joe Parker said he had heard that Greenleaf, a McDonald’s All-America candidate, would miss the game.

But, Parker said, “We’re preparing as if she’s going to be there.”

Since Lady Mustangs coach Yolanda Jenkins used to coach at Tift County, Morrow knows a little about Colquitt County girls basketball.

And she is concerned with Colquitt County’s height advantage, which she hopes her players can overcome with their quickness.

Parker said he thinks his team matches up well with the Lady Mustangs and added that his team is experienced enough that it should be able to handle whatever Morrow throws at them.

“I think we can take what the defense gives us,” Parker said.

The biggest problem for the Lady Packers, who take an 18-9 record to Morrow, has been a lack of consistent scoring.

The Lady Packers leading scorer is All-Region senior Ashley Stafford, who averages 9.6 points a game.

Sophomore post player Taquella Coates, who was named to the All-Region second team, averages 9.46 points a game.

The two also lead the team in rebounds. Coates averages 6.14 a game.

Stafford, from her guard and wing positions, averages 6.11 rebounds a game and leads the team with 115 defensive rebounds.

Stafford also leads the team with 115 assists. She and teammate Nikki Hudson each have 70 steals.

The team’s hottest player heading into the state tournament is senior point guard Dorothy Strong, who scored 43 points in the three region tournament games.

Stafford, Strong, Hudson and Coates will be joined in the starting lineup by senior Jessica Lemus.

Parker said that state tournament games often turn on the play of players coming off the bench. The Packers will use sophomore Tiffany Troupe to back up Coates and Lemus in the front court and sophomore Laquita Smith and freshman Nicolle Thomas to go in and play in the backcourt.

Thomas averages 7.0 points a game.

Stafford, Hudson, Strong and Lemus are veterans of the Lady Packers first-round state tournament victory over Camden County last year.

But the Lady Packers will play in the Lady Mustangs gymnasium tonight. They may get some support from the Colquitt County boys team, which played Friday night in Redan and is expected to be Morrow tonight.

“We’ll have to take care of the basketball and make some shots,” Parker said. “We just hope it’s not a game with more than a five-point swing. We are not a great catch-up team.

“We’re a blue-collar team. We come out and work as hard as we can. We played well in the (region) tournament. If we can come out quick, we ought to be able to play well.”

The winner of tonight’s game will advance to play the Lovejoy-Glynn Academy winner at 4 p.m. next Friday at the Macon Centreplex.

Also today, Region 1-AAAAA tournament champion Houston County will play host to Douglass; region runner-up Lowndes will entertain Redan; and Tift County will travel to Stephenson.