Colquitt County girls beat Dougherty 64-52

Published 1:35 pm Wednesday, December 16, 2020

MOULTRIE – In an erratic start to the 2020-2021 season, Colquitt County girls basketball coach Rondesha Williams is encouraging her players to be ready to play whenever they can suit up.

After several postponements because of quarantines, the Lady Packers played their fifth game of the season on Tuesday and knocked off Dougherty 64-52 in Albany.

“It’s been hard for us to get a good rhythm,” said Williams, whose team had not played since the previous Tuesday. “But we’ll take them as they come.”

Again led by sophomore Carliss Johnson, the Lady Packers outplayed a big and strong Dougherty team.

“We never let up,” Williams said. “We played hard until the final seconds.

“They tried to press us, but we broke the pressure and got some layups.”

Colquitt won despite going to the free throw line just seven times, hitting five.

Dougherty was 9-for-20.

Johnson, who scored 26 in the victory at Lee County last week, put up 29 against Dougherty.

Gracie Belle Paulk scored 15, including 13 in the third quarter.

“It’s all there for her,” Williams said of her junior post player. “She has all the tools.”

Heaven Robinson had 10 points and chipped in eight rebounds.

Sissy Rowland added seven and Camille Singletary had five.

The Lady Packers were scheduled to play on Saturday at Bainbridge, but the game was called off because the Lady Cats are in quarantine.

“It’s a challenge,” Williams said of the schedule uncertainty. “We’re dealing with it. We just want to keep the kids safe.”

The Lady Packers will play next on Monday in a recently put-together shoot-out to be played on the William Bryant Court.

It will be the first home games of the season for Colquitt County’s girls and boys basketball teams.

On Monday, the Lady Packers will meet Valdosta at 4 p.m. At 5:30, the Colquitt County boys will play Bainbridge.

There also will be two girls games earlier on Monday with Monroe playing Tift County at 1 p.m. and Peach County meeting Lee County at 2:30 p.m.

On Tuesday, Colquitt County’s girls will play Fitzgerald at 4 p.m. and the Colquitt boys will play Crisp County at 5:30 p.m.

Also on Tuesday, Peach County will play Thomasville at 1 p.m. and Valdosta will play Monroe in a pair of girls games.

Williams had hoped to take her team to the CresCom Bank Invitational in Myrtle Beach, S.C., scheduled for Dec. 19-22, but decided against it as a safety precaution.

Also, the Colquitt County boys were scheduled to take part in the Willis Valley Shootout in Fort Payne, Ala. on Monday through Wednesday, but instead will play the home games against Bainbridge and Crisp County on Monday and Tuesday.