MOULTRIE – Valdosta High point guard Asia Harrison penetrated and crossover dribbled her way to 27 points Wednesday. The Lady Wildcats scored the first eight points of the game against Colquitt County High and never looked back, taking a 63-52 win against the Class 7A No. 9-ranked Lady Packers at the Vereen Rehabilitation Shootout on William Bryant Court.

For Colquitt County and coach Rondesha Williams – now 10-3 – Za’Nautica Downs scored 20 points and Diamond Hall 13. Valdosta had a 19-point game from Desiree Arnold. While the Lady Packers were victorious in the Tuesday action of the Vereen Shootout against Morrow, the Lady Wildcats fell by 15, 51-36, to Rickards of Tallahassee.

In that game with Rickards, Valdosta showed a moment-one commitment to three-quarter court pressure. Showing that to the Lady Packers Wednesday, it resulted in more turnovers that shot attempts for the hosts. The fast pace the Lady Wildcats tried to set meant Colquitt was down by eight only 1:35 into the opening quarter, the last two directly off a press turnover.

Abiyah Spencer canned a 3-pointer for Colquitt’s first points at 5:39. From a defensive standpoint, the Lady Packers were building up stats with three blocks, two by point guard Akia Sutton. Hall also blocked a shot and stole the basketball. Williams saw her charges build up a number of offensive rebounds, but only two second-chance points from the hands of Hall.

Downs nailed Colquitt’s second 3-pointer of the quarter to cut Valdosta’s lead to 11-8, but it was the last long range make of the half. Valdosta made four 3-pointers (each by a different player) in the first half. That’s how they closed the opening period and began the second to go up by 11, 22-11. The 3-point game would abandon the Lady Wildcats for the rest of the quarter, but shooting overall left the Lady Packers.

Putting back one of the many missed 3-balls, Valdosta led by 12, 28-16. One of the rare open shots to go through for Colquitt, Kiarra Lovett’s make assisted by Sutton, closed out the first half at 28-18.

Harrison took 15 points into the break. Her team began the new half with a three-point play, the result of stealing the ball from their press (32-18). The Lady Packers tried to go full-court press for the first time, and got Harrison whistled for an offensive foul. VHS broke through the pressure later, however, and went up 13 35-22. When Colquitt went away from the press, Valdosta stuck its one and only 3-pointer of the half for the game’s widest margin, 38-24, at 4:55.

The Lady Packer scoring came from the foul line in the third, 12 makes in all. As the quarter neared its end, Harrison split defenders twice to get points for herself and a teammate. That helped the Lady Wildcats, steadly up 10 to 14 points throughout, go into the fourth ahead 48-36.

Colquitt only made one steal in the third, but earned four in the final eight minutes. Hall was all over the offensive glass, but none of her putbacks would go through the hole. Her team did narrow the margin to single digits, 49-40, but Harrison answered with dribble penetration and a three-point play. Downs got the 3-point shot to fall at 6:06, but Harrison took it to the hole for two in response.

That was the pattern the rest of the game, whatever Colquitt did, Valdosta equaled. Hall escaped giving up the ball and assisted two for Spencer and made the 3-ball at 2:26, but Valdosta wound up going ahead 58-48. Downs penetrated to earn a three-point play, but Harrison did the same (minus the free-throw) for 60-51.