The home teams represented well on Saturday night in Tifton as the varsity boys and girls posted wins over the visiting Valdosta Wildcats.
It was a tale of two ends of the floor for Tift County. In the first varsity matchup of the evening, the Lady Blue Devils, after a subpar start, opened up the game with their high-powered offensive efforts. After the night began with 4-0 run, Lady Cats’ forward Desinee Arnold answered with a three-pointer from the right corner. Valdosta senior Tykeria Holmes was impressive in the paint, grabbing boards at a high clip early, but Tift still managed to take a 13-7 lead after one quarter and bumping that lead up to 22-10 at the half.
The second half saw an offensive explosion from Lady Blue Devils’ junior Audrey McElhaney. After the half opened with a 4-0 run from Valdosta freshman Amari Sharpe to cut the Lady Cats deficit to eight points, the Tift star went to work, and in by the end of the third quarter the home team had maintained the margin, holding a 35-26 edge. More of the same in the fourth quarter helped the defending Region Champion Lady Blue Devils to end the night with a 47-31 victory.
In the final game of the night, the Tift County varsity boys took the floor and, in a high-paced style that Georgia basketball enthusiasts have come to appreciate out of Tifton, had no problem showing why they are touted a one of the premier teams in the state (and country) while hanging a decisive 65-31 win over the Wildcats.
After a relatively close opening quarter that saw both teams struggle offensively (neither team scored until Tift County’s Michah Johnson connected on a free-throw line jumper two minutes into the matchup), the Blue Devils ended the first with a 15-7 advantage.
However, while the Lady Blue Devils used their offensive efforts to their gain, the boys team, while heavily equipped and efficient on that end, used highly-effective defense to clamp down on any chance that the visitors had of closing a quickly widening gap. Led by the duo of Johnson and senior Tyrie Jackson (who emphasized the win with multiple highlight-worthy dunks), the Blue Devils took a 42-14 lead into halftime before blowing the doors off the hinges in the second half.
Tift County will return to competition on January 29, when they host Colquitt County; the Wildcats will return to Valdosta, but will travel across town for a region rematch against Lowndes.
Sidebar: The Lady Blue Devils were able to recapture first place in Region 1-AAAAAA after their win on Saturday night. Both Tift County and Valdosta were 3-1 heading into the contest; Tift is now leading the region at 4-1, while Valdosta fell to 3-2.
In the Game/Web Content
Region 1-AAAAAA Basketball
Tift County Girls Reclaim Region Lead, Boys Flex Hardwood Dominance in Wins over the Cats
By James Washington
Photography by Marque Milla Reese
