MORGAN COUNTY
The Morgan County girls basketball team finally broke through with a win earlier this week.
The Lady Dogs (18-6, 7-3 Region 4-AAA) were riding a two-game losing skid entering the regular season finale Tuesday at Harlem; however, they were able to down the Lady Bulldogs, 59-47.
Freshman Cydney Burke led in scoring with a season and career-high 18 points, with 12 of them coming in the first half. Also, sophomore Kiwi Lane added 14 points in the victory.
First-year head coach Milfred Franklin was excited to get the win on Tuesday, especially after losing two straight. He also likes where his team is at right now heading into the region tournament, which will be held next week to determine what four teams go to the state playoffs.
“It was great to get the win,” Franklin said. “Now, we have a week to get prepared for the region tourney. It’s definitely going to be a challenge, although I believe we are up for it.”
Morgan County lost two conference games last week to Hephzibah and No. 8 Cross Creek. The Lady Rebels avenged an earlier season loss Tuesday with a 54-46 upset of the Lady Dogs.
On Friday, the highly-ranked Lady Razorbacks then completed the season sweep of Morgan County. They defeated the Lady Dogs 53-33, the exact score of the Jan. 17 matchup.
According to Franklin, sophomore Kymora Smith missed Friday’s game due to injury, so getting her back Tuesday night helped in a big way entering the Region 4-AAA tournament.
“That kind of put us in a tight spot with our main ball handler (missing),” Franklin said. “Destiny (Hunter) also went out in the same game, which put a strain on our inside presence.”
Morgan County fought hard against Cross Creek, and Franklin was proud of his team’s effort.
“Our girls rallied together. They played extremely well and hard,” Franklin said. “They did everything they could with who we had at that point, so I was pleased with how we played.”
Cross Creek led 30-15 at the half after a pair of long runs. The Lady Dogs slowed them down toward the end of the second quarter and responded with a few baskets of their own.
The Lady Razorbacks started out slow as well in the third period and Morgan County took advantage. The Lady Dogs trailed by 32-22 at the 4:52 mark, but Cross Creek went on a 10-2 run to end the quarter. The Lady Razorbacks led 42-24 heading into the fourth period.
“I was pleased with our overall effort, even though we weren’t at full strength,” Franklin said. “The girls gave it their all.”
Sophomore Jaden Young led the way in scoring with 10 points, while Tanayah Brantley added seven. Burke and Destiny Smith each had six points. Burke also had 19 rebounds.
Despite the loss, Franklin feels as if his team gained a “confidence boost” after Friday’s game.
“One thing they realized after the game was that they can compete with Cross Creek,” he said. “With how they competed in the first quarter and the first half, it gave them a confidence boost. It also allowed my other players to step up and get more confidence themselves.”
After the loss on Friday night, Morgan County honored its only girls’ senior, Destiny Hunter. Despite not playing in the game due to injury, she was there cheering her team on.
Hunter is the team’s second-leading scorer (9.5 ppg) and its leading rebounder (10.5 rpg).
Franklin is going to miss his only senior in his first season as the Lady Dogs’ head coach.
“She’s meant a lot to the program,” Franklin said of Hunter. “She’s been a tremendous leader. She’s been a model student-athlete for anyone to look up to. She does everything to the best of her ability. And, she’s one of the players that any coach would love to have in their first year, or for four years in a program. One that I commend about Destiny is that she’s the only girl in her (senior) class that has stuck with basketball for all four years.
“That speaks volumes about her commitment, even when things might have not gone well every single year or fallen off,” he added. “She’s the only one that stuck it out. I’m proud of her.”
Tournament info
Morgan County enters the Region 4-AAA tournament with a bye as the No. 2 seed. The Lady Dogs hope to make it late into the contest, with hopes of meeting Cross Creek again.
The semifinals of next week’s Region 4-AAA tournament will be held on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17 at Cross Creek High School. The times for those games are to be determined soon.