MOULTRIE – From 2010 to 2014, Colquitt County girls basketball coach Rondesha Williams had Makeba Ponder in her starting five.

All Ponder did was score a school-record 2,071 points in her all-state career and is now playing at Georgia State.

The season after Ponder graduated, Za’Nautica Downs slid seamlessly into her place in the lineup.

Downs, now a junior, went over the 1,000-point mark two weeks ago in Florida, and the 14 she scored in the Lady Packers’ last-tenth-of-a-second victory over Bainbridge on Tuesday gives her 1,094 with still a season and a half left in her career.

It appears as if she has a darn good chance to catch Ponder and become the school’s second 2,000-point scorer.

Williams, now in her 10th season as Lady Packers coach, certainly is aware that that significant school milestone could be reached in the 2017-2018 season.

But right now she is still coming to grips with having two 1,000-point scorers come out of her program.

“It is a blessing to be here 10 years and have two kids score over 1,000 points,” she said on Tuesday following the Lady Packers eighth-straight victory to open the season. “There are not a lot of coaches who have had the pleasure of doing that.

“And these are two awesome kids, on and off the court.”

Despite scoring a season-low against Bainbridge in the Lady Packers’ first game on the William Bryant Court since Nov. 15, Downs is off to a remarkable start, scoring 200 points in the first eight games, a cool 25.0 per game average.

She has knocked down 41 against Rickards in Tallahassee and 36 against Dougherty in Albany.

But clearly struggling with her usually reliable shot on Tuesday, Downs made the most of her points.

After a scoreless first quarter for the entire team, she hit a baseline jumper 35 seconds into the second to finally get the Lady Packers – who had been averaging 62.1 points a game – on the scoreboard. She got Colquitt’s third and fourth points less than a minute later.

She got the first points of the second half with a 3-pointer that pulled Colquitt to within one, then caromed a trey off the glass with 33 seconds left in the game to give the Lady Packers a short-lived one-point lead.

“That just shows the confidence she has, even when she wasn’t shooting that well,” Williams said. “Nothing fazes her. She just loves playing basketball.”

Much the same could be said for Ponder, who was a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference pick this year after leading the Panthers in scoring in both her freshman and sophomore seasons.

Currently in a bit of a shooting slump, Ponder showed up for her alma mater’s game at Worth County last week. Williams advised her to keep putting them up. All shooters go through dry spells.

“We all know Makeba can shoot,” Williams said. “And I’ll make this boast right now. I believe she’ll go overseas (to play professionally) in a couple years. She’s just that good.”

Williams is also pleased with Ponder’s work in the classroom, having made the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll on two occasions.

Williams says she believes that Ponder’s decision to go to Atlanta to play collegiately was the right one.

“There’s a lot of talk about going to the ACC or the SEC,” Williams says. “But you want to go where you can participate and play. And her family is able to get up there and see her.

“It was the right fit.”

Downs will be facing a similar decision perhaps this time next year. South Alabama, Kennesaw State, North Florida and some junior colleges have already shown some interest.

Williams says Downs is keeping her grades up, is planning to take the ACT shortly and should be academically qualified when she is ready to make a college choice.

“She is such an all-around good player,” Williams says. “Since middle school, she has matured on and off the court. She’s doing the right things. She’s an exciting kid to coach.

“We’ve got to find the right fit for her, too.”

Downs has been the key to the 8-0 start, but Williams is due some credit for her handling of a team that has no post-sized players.

The Lady Packers have averaged 17 victories in each of her first nine seasons in Moultrie. This year’s edition is nearly halfway to that mark as it prepares to play three games in the Peach State Shoot-out, beginning with a matchup against North Clayton next Wednesday at Clayton State University.

Williams deflects much of the credit for the program’s success over the last decade to her assistants, including Stephanie Cody, who has sat next to her on the bench for seven seasons.

Thad Brown has been around 10 seasons, minus a semester he spent at Worth County. He high-tailed it back quickly.

“He couldn’t stay away,” Williams said.

Joining Cody and Brown this season is former Lady Packer Brittany Taylor.

“I like having one of our former kids on staff to learn how to build a program,” Williams said. “And that’s what we’re doing here.”

Williams, of course, is the leader of the Lady Pack.

She is well-respected in the school system, as evidenced by her role as an assistant principal and assistant athletic director.

She also is building an appreciative fan base in the community, doing much more for her players than the normal fan sees. There are plenty of miles on the odometer that have been rolled up shuttling her girls and she seems to relish it.

Talk about the right fit.