MOULTRIE – When Dougherty’s Amiyah Jackson banked in a short shot to bring the Lady Trojans to within a point of Colquitt County with 2:42 left on Saturday, Lady Packers coach Stephanie Cody was concerned.
Colquitt’s girls had won their first three games this season handily.
But with Amareyia Knighton ill and leading scorer Amira Walters-Smith feeling the effects of an inadvertent kick to her shin, were the Lady Packer about to suffer their first loss?
Not to worry.
The Jackson basket that cut the Colquitt County lead to 41-40 ended up the final one the Lady Trojans would score and the Lady Packers went on to a 49-40 victory.
The win started a Saturday sweep for the Colquitt County teams in the South Georgia vs. Middle Georgia Showcase on the William Bryant Court.
Both the Lady Packers and Packers will take 4-0 records to Bainbridge on Tuesday for another pair of non-Region 1-6A games.
After the Lady Packers put Dougherty away, the Colquitt County boys won their fourth straight with a 71-32 dismantling of Macon’s Rutland High.
Cody, in her first season as the Lady Packers coach, said she was proud of the way her team responded over the final 2 1/2 minutes.
“They could easily have started moping around,” she said. “But they rose to the occasion.”
Knighton was suffering from an upset stomach, did not start and played only a few intermittent minutes, scoring just one point.
But sophomore Kamya Thomas filled in admirably.
“She held her own,” Cody said. “She could easily have been scared, but she wasn’t.”
Playing without Knighton was worrisome enough, but when Walters-Smith was down on the court for several minutes in the third quarter after a drive to the basket, Cody’s concern turned to worry.
She at first feared the All-State guard had suffered a knee or ankle injury, but was relieved to find it was just a bad bruise.
The Lady Packers led 37-30 when Walters-Smith was helped off the court.
She returned in time to help put the brakes on a Dougherty fourth-quarter run that threatened a lead Colquitt had held since late in the first quarter.
Walters-Smith ended up scoring 10 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter. Six came after the Lady Trojans had pulled to within one.
Caylnn Singletary had 10 points, including two on a basket with 1:15 left that extended Colquitt’s lead to six.
She also started the Lady Packers off with a 3-pointer just 29 seconds into the game.
Nacardia Robinson added nine points, Thomas and Ta’Meria Williams each had a basket and Knighton added a third-quarter free throw.
Jatiana Chambers led Dougherty, now 4-3, with 13 points.
When the Lady Packers arrive in Bainbridge on Tuesday, they will be facing a Lady Bearcat team that has lost two in a row after a 4-0 start.
After edging Rickards of Tallahassee 45-44 in the Charles Cooper Invitational at Lowndes on Nov. 26, the Colquitt County boys have defeated Cairo by 40 points and Rutland by 39.
As they did the night before in the 91-51 win over the Syrupmakers, the Packers exploded in the second half on Saturday, outscoring the Hurricanes 34-15.
The trio of No. 1 Marcus Moore, No. 2 Kanilyn Jones and No. 3 Cason Harden combined to score 52 of the Packers 71 points.
Jones led the onslaught with 21 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter before the junior varsity players took the court with 1:51 remaining.
Harden had 18, including nine on three 3-pointers.
Moore also had a trio of 3-pointers on his way to 13 points.
Jakari Byrd added seven, Zi Alridge added six and Quan Kinsey, Alexis Barge and Ki Wallace each had a basket.
The Packers are off to their best start since the 2017-2018 team won their first 10 games in a row.
The Colquitt boys will try to make it five straight against the 3-3 Bearcats on Tuesday.
Colquitt will return to play on the William Bryant Court next Friday when Westover visits from Albany. The girls game will tip off at 6 p.m. The boys game will follow.