MOULTRIE – At the start of the night, it was two girls basketball teams coming off big Region 1-7A wins. Sloppy play finally put aside after one quarter, the Colquitt County High Lady Packers opened the second quarter with 14 straight and cruised past the Camden County Lady Wildcats 66-35.

A big reason for that onslaught Saturday was Za’Nautica Downs, she and her 31 points.

Rondesha Williams and the Lady Packers solidified first place in Region 1-7A at 4-1 and improved to 18-4 overall. Colquitt’s girls are one game ahead of Tift County’s 3-2 mark, and all four teams in the region have one game remaining. For the Lady Packers, that game is Tuesday against the Lowndes High Vikettes, the third place team at 2-3.

A win there would seal the No. 1 seed for the 1-7A tournament that begins Feb. 9. Otherwise, the Lady Packers could still be No. 1 with a Tift County loss to Camden County this coming weekend. The best the Lady Blue Devils could hope for is to tie for first place, and the first tiebreaker (head-to-head) would be a split.

While Colquitt County earned that split on Friday (see related story), the Lady Wildcats won in 1-7A for the first time at Lowndes. As stated above, both sides began their meeting sloppy. Colquitt’s consistent shooting hand belonged to point guard Akia Sutton with two jumpers. Camden, however, took advantage of a little mismatch at the forward position going to Nicole Jones. She scored six points, and with a little help from long range it was the visiting team leading 11-9 after one.

Tionna Hunt, coming off the bench, had as much of an impact on Colquitt’s turnaround as anyone. She caused a turnover to end that opening quarter, and at the start of the new eight minutes she did it again. Downs charged down the other end to earn the old-fashioned three-point play.

Diamond Hall, though her outside game was off, did some of the dribble driving that was so effective in the win over Tift to add 2 in the run. Downs later sank 3 with a second-chance shot. Hall added two assists towards the end of the half, and her dribble move up the middle was cashed in by Sutton.

Hunt hit a jumper from a corner assisted by Hall. But as far as defending goes, the Lady Packers were too much on pressuring the ball outside the arc. That led to two steals by Downs, one more by Hall and only four points allowed for the whole second. Hall even made an athletic block in the post.

The Lady Packers led 26-15 at the break. For the third quarter, it was all Downs on the offensive end, that is until Abiyah Spencer’s shot fake and connection put the hosts up 20, 39-19. Sutton raised her final game total to eight, and Hall finished with 14 as Downs found her wide open down low. At the end of three, it was 47-25.

Chyna Calhoun, playing for the second night in a row after a long injury spell, opened the fourth quarter completing a press break. The assist went to fellow forward Kiarra Lovett.

THOMPSON AND THE 3S

In what could only be described as a record-setting night of unconscious aim, Nizarre Thompson canned eight 3-pointers for all 24 of his points. Cam Singletary sank five from behind the arc for all 15 of his points.

In all, there were 18 treys out of the hands of Colquitt County High Packers Saturday as they rolled to an 81-38 Region 1-7A slaughter of the one-win Camden County Wildcats. Of even more significants, Colquitt boys basketball reached 17 wins in a season for the first time since 2001.

It looked like, however, that the big offensive night would come from Tyrese King. He did finish with 14 points, including the first of the 18 long balls. Singletary was next to connect, and forward Quinten Dopson stole the basketball and went all the way. King had six more points – four from offensive boards – around one more trey from Singletary that staked the Packers to an 18-6 lead.

Then coach Andy Harden started making substitutions, and the night got even more miserable for the Wildcats but fun for the home fans. Jarvis Christopher was the first back-up to make 3 count, and Thompson was all net to end the first quarter at 25-9.

For Thompson, though, that was his first of five Colquitt County made baskets in a row, all from 3. He even had hands in his face in making the fourth one, and when the fifth went through it was 37-11.

Three steps beyond that arc didn’t affect Thompson either on his sixth trey. Before the end of the half starting forward DaNas Andrews got his hands on a third shot opportunity, and entered into the 3-ball act. He increased the Packer magian to 30, and at the half his club led 51-17.

Singletary scored nine of the 14 Colquitt points in the third quarter. Though Camden made an 8-0 run to end that period, Thompson – no points to his credit – blocked a 3 try in the final minute. His last two 3s were in the fourth, and No. 18 belonged to K.T. Wilson.

Christopher had eight points total and Andrews seven.

The Packers can finish no better than third in the region after improving to 2-3 (17-5 overall), but they have a chance to impact who finishes No. 1. Lowndes’ Vikings visit Moultrie on Tuesday while in a tie for first place with Tift County, each at 4-1.