RICHMOND HILL – One day after a disappointing loss to Camden County in its Region 1-6A opener, the Colquitt County girls basketball team remained on the road Saturday and defeated Richmond Hill 50-37.
Now 1-1 in the region and 11-2 overall, the Lady Packers now have set their sights on Tuesday’s region game at Lowndes.
The Vikettes are 11-1 overall after defeating Tift County 52-28 on Saturday in Tifton.
The game was not as close as the score indicated. The Lady Devils did not manage their first basket until the third quarter.
One of the Lowndes girls 11 wins came over the Lady Packers by a 71-38 score on December 20, in the Lee County Showcase in Leesburg.
The Vikettes only loss was by two points at Rickards High in Tallahassee back on Nov. 19.
Lowndes is led by Kaci Demps, who recently surpassed 1,000 points in her career. She is averaging 15.7 points a game and scored 20 against the Lady Packers.
Aryana Thomas also averages 15.7 for the Vikettes.
The trip east to play Camden County and Richmond Hill on back-to-back days started with Lady Packers losing in Kingsland on Friday 51-44.
Colquitt’s girls had won 10 of their first 11 games before meeting Camden, “But we never could get any momentum,” said Lady Packers coach Stephanie Cody.
“There would be a whistle or we’d miss a layup. We missed too many opportunities to shift things our way.”
Amareyia Knighton led the Lady Packers with 14 points. Leading scorer Amira Walters-Smith, averaging just over 20 points a game, was held to 13 points.
Caylnn Singletary had eight; Nacardia Robinson added seven; and Ta’Meria Williams had two.
Only four Lady Packers scored against Richmond Hill on Saturday, but each was in double-digits.
And defensively, they were able to hold the Lady Wildcats, now 11-3 overall, to just 37 points, their lowest output in a game this season.
Walters-Smith led the Lady Packers with 17 points, including eight of her team’s 13 points in the final quarter.
Singletary added 13, including nine points on three 3-pointers.
Knighton and Robinson each had 10.
Cody said she would not let her team wallow in Friday’s loss.
“I wouldn’t let them mope around,” she said. “You’ve got to ride things out.
“Things are getting a little tougher now. They come in waves. You’ve got to surf the high ones and paddle through the low ones.”