ITG Next’s March 2026 Georgia Female Athlete of the Month is Tift County High School basketball player Mariyah Batts.
Batts is a junior point guard for the Lady Blue Devils basketball program and plays under head coach Julie Conner Johnson.
Johnson is quick to heap plenty of praise on her point guard.
“Mariyah has played for me for the last three years, and she is not only a great basketball player, but she is a wonderful young lady as well,” Johnson said. “She is our point guard and does a great job of leading our team on the court. She works extremely hard and always has a great attitude.”
Johnson said there are a couple of areas of Batts’ game that really stand out.
“Batts has a beautiful shot and she’s an incredible passer as well,” Johnson said.
But that’s not all. Batts also possesses a couple of special skills that make her one of the best point guards in the region.
She is one of the top 3-point shooters and one of the top free throw shooters in the area.
Batts scored 246 points this season, an average of 8.5 points per game while leading the Lady Devils offense, and shot 75% from the free throw line, connecting on 41-of-55 attempts from the charity stripe. She hit 35 3-pointers this season.
On defense, Batts had 76 steals while pulling down 43 rebounds and dishing out 67 assists.
She scored a season-high 21 points against Valdosta in a region matchup earlier this season.
Batts earned First Team All-Region honors this past season, one of just two Tift County players selected. Teammate Mackenzie Holiday was also a First Team All-Region selection.
As a three-year starter at point guard, Batts led the Lady Devils to a 25-5 overall record, including a trip to the Class 6A girls state quarterfinals in her freshman season, where they faced River Ridge in the 2023-24 state playoffs. Tift County lost that game 64-49, but for Batts it was a major success, showing she could lead a program at the highest level even as a freshman.
Batts has led Tift County to 24 wins over the past two seasons and is hoping to finish her senior season next year the same way she began her career with the Lady Devils: with a deep run in the state playoffs.
Her head coach is certainly a believer.
“Mariyah is an awesome young player, and she works so hard,” Johnson said. “She is definitely a winner, and we are thrilled to have her as our point guard here at Tift County.”
Congratulations to Tift County High School basketball player Mariyah Batts, ITG Next’s March 2026 Georgia Female Athlete of the Month.
