MOULTRIE — Colquitt County senior D’Zeriyah Polite won the most valuable player award after fighting a fierce battle during the championship game of the Lee County “Girl Power” Classic basketball tournament Friday night.

During the game against Veterans, Polite was the second-highest scorer for the Lady Packers, bringing in a total of 13 points.

}In addition to scoring the first basket for the Lady Packers, Polite also had two successful 3-point shots as well as four rebounds and two assists.

The Lady Packers lost the match by only a 5-point margin, bringing home the second-place trophy.

The final score was 55-50.

}“The girls were really excited after the game,” said head coach Rondesha Williams. ”Everyone thought Veterans would beat us with around a 25-point margin; but, they fought hard and were able to come back from a 13-point deficit.”

During the fourth quarter, the Lady Packers almost overtook the Veterans, closing the gap to just a single point, however there wasn’t quite enough time left on the clock left for them to overtake the Warhawks.

Three other Lady Packers scored points during the match: Jamya Moore with 12, Amareyia Knighton with eight and Amira Walters-Smith with 17.

}Of those three athletes, both Moore and Walters-Smith contributed 3-point baskets.

Where the Lady Packers shined, however, was defensively.

With 12 steals, 31 rebounds, 7 turnovers and 3 blocks, the Lady Packers shut down a multitude of advancements from Veterans.

During the fourth quarter, when the score was 48-38, advantage Veterans, in an offensive surge, the Lady Packers had two back-to-back steals, one from Moore with the other from Knighton — both completing long passes to Walters-Smith for an easy lay-up, and a 3-point basket from Moore to make the score 48-45.

The Lady Packers will next compete in the Colquitt County hosted Vereen Christmas Shootout tournament, taking place from December 28-30, each day playing their games at 7 p.m., followed immediately by the Packers.