VALDOSTA – It was almost a 30-year wait. The fourth quarter didn’t take quite that long, but Rondesha Williams kept her eyes on that clock as it wound down the closing seconds of Colquitt County High’s first region basketball championship since 1988.

Offensive Player of the Year Za’Nautica Downs had 25 points, Player of the Year Diamond Hall scored 23, and the Lady Packers topped the third-seeded Lowndes High Vikettes 76-52 to win the Region 1-7A Tournament girls championship Friday inside Lowndes’ Crimson Coliseum.

As always, Williams can count on one unsung contributor outside her big 2. On Friday, that was reserve forward/guard Tionna Hunt, who scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half. Her points either came when teammates spotted her wide open on the blocks or when she crashed the offensive glass.

The game took a different turn in the second half, slowed down by the Lowndes fouling strategy once the Colquitt leading margin reached 20 points. In the fourth quarter alone, the Lady Packers made 22 free throws.

Being region champions, Colquitt’s girls have a chance for as many as three home games in the upcoming GHSA 7A tournament. These Lady Packers will look to be the program’s first quarterfinalist since 2006; if they are paired with any seed other than a No. 1 in the Elite 8, they will host, but if it is a match-up of two No. 1s, a coin toss determines the home team.

The Colquitt-Lowndes championship pairing was lacking in offense for about three minutes, the Lady Packers beset by poor shooting and the Vikettes by giving the ball away. At 5:08, Abiyah Spencer stuck in 3 from the top of the key, and that was answered by Lowndes’ Mikyla Woods from a wing.

Lowndes would use its press to get a 10-second turnover and proceeded to go ahead 7-3. Colquitt charged its way to a tied score behind Downs’ free-safety type interception and forward Kiarra Lovett’s basket while wide open underneath. Hunt scored two stick-backs as she made her first venture onto the court, and Downs created a second steal, this of the pick-pocket variety.

Still, with the 3-point game off and committing turnovers, Colquitt only owned a one-point edge, 14-13, after the first eight minutes.

Hall was especially quiet offensively until she pulled the bounce-off trick inbounding the ball. She took it off a Vikette and scored. She would later beat her defender off the dribble.

Hunt was still a factor, calling for the ball often inside. Though she had her foul-line struggles, she was a trailing wing to get Hall’s assist on the break. Hall then put back a missed free throw for 23-17 Colquitt. Williams later called on Hunt to shoot free throws as Lovett had to be removed to see about a possible injury. There was about a minute to go before the half, and Hunt’s shots went through making it 31-22.

It was a certain dominant rebounding performance for the Lady Packers, and defensively there were steals from Spencer and Ty’Asia McNeal. Downs both finished and defended fast breaks leading her team into the break up 34-22.

Downs and Hall combined for perfect 5-for-5 shooting to expand that advantage to 20, 45-25. Hunt’s only second-half points were on the break assisted by Downs. The foul count was becoming a factor with under two minutes left in the third. Hall had her fourth with the score 50-28. Downs penetrated for her team’s last points of the third quarter, and it was Lowndes ending it with four in a row, including 3 by Jamesha Samuel.

The Vikettes, rebounding missed free throws, cut it down to 15, 52-37, early in the fourth. Their attacks of the basket – to go with the early fouling – were negated by the Colquitt makes and unforced turnovers. Hall, going in and out of the lineup, scored the only field goal in the period.