Defensive persistence and outstanding offensive performances by Colquitt County seniors Diamond Hall and Za’nautica Downs lifted the visiting Packers past Wheeler and onto the second round of the girls Class 7A state playoffs Friday night at Doug Lipscomb Gymnasium.
In the first quarter, Downs and junior teammate Eriyona Stokes each drained three-pointers and were two of the five different Packers to contribute points. Wheeler struggled to get into any sort of offensive groove and trailed 11-7 heading into the second frame as a result. Colquitt County successfully preserved its lead for half of the second quarter as Wheeler worked the ball tirelessly around the perimeter looking for opportunities to feed 6-foot-4 center Nissa Sam-Grant in the post. The Packers came up with several steals and a coast-to-coast transition finish by Hall was followed by a beautiful behind the back pass from Downs to Kiarra Lovett to put Colquitt County up 20-15 with 4:12 left in the half. But then came Wheeler.
Junior Ashton Lansdell found Grant in the post for an easy basket and then Mary Hestead intercepted the ensuing inbounds pass and found freshman Alyssa Barnes under the basket for another quick two points. Wheeler took a 21-20 lead less than a minute later after a steal by Smith and assist to Barnes capped the 6-0 scoring burst.
“At the end of the second quarter, they made a run,” admitted Colquitt County head coach Rondesha Williams after the game. “They threw that press on us and we weren’t making the passes we needed to.”
Hall and Downs willed Colquitt County back in front before the half arrived and a cluch corner 3-pointer by Hall with just 30 seconds left gave the Packers a 27-23 edge.
That four-point gap proved to be the closest Wheeler would come as Downs quickly set the tone in the third quarter with its first five points.
“Downs is a true scorer, explained Williams. “She can score the ball in a blink of an eye and that’s what she did tonight.”
The Packers’ defensive efforts also intensified in the third quarter as Wheeler was outscored 13-7. Patiently, the Packers took advantage of the extra opportunities their defense had created while a vocal coach Williams orchestrated the defensive adjustments from the sidelines.
“We knew that Wheeler was going to work the ball around the perimeter going into the game,” said Williams. “We knew we had to make the adjustment. We did a good job on the big girl and we knew that Wheeler had three good guards. But we were able to keep making the adjustments. Every now and then we forgot when to rotate, but we hung in there and ultimately did what we needed to do.”
Colquitt County wrung the clock out in the fourth quarter and closed out the victory with 8-of-10 free throw shooting in the game’s final 66 seconds. Hall was the most effective from the foul line, connecting on 10-of-the-11 attempts that helped fuel her game-high 26 points.
“We didn’t get the region tournament results we wanted, but That’s fine,” said Williams. “I tell my kids everything happens for a reason. Going into the state tournament as a three seed is okay. Every team at this point is 0-0. It’s tournament time and every time we step on the court, we are going to be ready to play. We don’t care who it is, we’re here to ball.”
