ALBANY – Rondesha Williams took the Class 7A No. 7 Colquitt County High girls basketball team to the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic Monday with injury concerns.

Senior Tionna Hunt was in uniform, listed in the scorebook as an eligible player, but did not take part in any pre-game or halftime warmups. Naia Benefield was not available at all after her injury the previous Friday at Camden County.

With Monday’s contest against Dougherty High at Albany State University’s West campus being non-region, Williams only used those fully healthy during the first half – including those with less experience. At first, the game looked to be a runaway for Colquitt County until chemistry issues crept in and turned control over to Dougherty’s side.

It wasn’t quite like Willis Reed taking the court for the New York Knicks back in the 1970s, but with two minutes left in the third period and Dougherty on a 6-0 run Hunt checked into the action. Hunt scored eight points, played with fury on the offensive boards and helped the Lady Packers turn a six-point deficit into a 63-55 win.

With the victory, the Colquitt girls are 17-2 and will spend the week preparing for Friday’s Region 1-7A home game against Tift County.

Janiah Ellis was a strong scoring force in the first quarter, not so much in the second, but complimented the work of Hunt in the final eight minutes for a game-high 28 points. Eriyona Stokes hit for 14 points and Tim’mya Sanders nine.

Williams’ starting lineup featured forward Kenyana Faulk for the first time this season. Both she and starting point guard Camille Singletary caused turnovers, and Faulk assisted a basket for Ellis in an opening 16-4 run. Stokes had a hot shooting hand in this spurt as well with two 3-pointers and a stick-back. Sanders ran the floor to score a field goal at the end of the first quarter, which had the Lady Packers up big, 22-8.

In the second quarter, the Colquitt field-goal shooting went way down. The only thing keeping Williams’ girls in front was a trade of turnovers with Dougherty. It wasn’t until the 1:41 mark that Dougherty brought the margin down to 10, 26-16. With 25 seconds to go, Dougherty executed a pass inside, and that put the score 27-20 at halftime.

Offense remained non-existent for the Lady Packers in the first three minutes of the third period. It wasn’t full reliance on outside shooting, but the up-close lay-ins that would not fall. Dougherty took advantage of a block on defense to run the floor for 2, and then the ‘visiting’ team (despite playing in their home city) took the lead on a 3-pointer at 5:36 (28-27).

Down 30-27 from a turnover, Williams took a timeout. Her team returned to play a bit more confident as Faulk created a takeaway and Ellis scored the lay-up with fundamental motion. Ellis’ next 3-point attempt was also all net. From a second timeout, Ellis assisted the basket made by Faulk.

The momentum didn’t last, though, as Dougherty went on the 6-0 run that prompted the appearance of Hunt. That impact wouldn’t be felt, however, until the fourth quarter. As for the third, it was another sloppy exchange of turnovers and a 42-36 lead at the end for Dougherty.

In the fourth, the Lady Packers seized control with two straight 3’s hit by Ellis and a pair of offensive rebounds in the same possession by Hunt. She repeated that feat in another possession, and both combined to put five points on the board. Stokes turned a steal into 2 points, and Singletary sent her theft towards Hunt for another basket and 54-50 Lady Packer lead.

Both Hunt and Stokes had two steals in the quarter, and Sanders chipped in put-back points in the final minute to seal the win.