The Morgan County girls’ basketball team (7-8) recently competed in the Oscar’s Wimbley Classic tournament at Lamar County High School and came away with a second-place finish.
The Lady ‘Dogs defeated Locust Grove (48-33) and Ola (45-36) before falling to host Lamar County (54-48) in the championship game of the Wimbley Classic tournament on Saturday, Dec. 30.
In the championship game, the Lady Trojans managed to erase a 12-point halftime deficit and win by six. Their experience down the stretch was key as they fought hard to get back into the contest.
Morgan County was led by Jaden Young, who made the All-Tournament team, with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Precious Benford added nine points, while Cydney Burke had seven points and 13 boards.
In the wins over Locust Grove and Ola, head coach Milfred Frankin was impressed with his girls.
“Both teams had a good player, and that allowed us to step our defense up,” Franklin said. “We played against very good-caliber- type players on both teams. We also got better with our defensive rebounds, because that is something we’ve struggled with against teams with scrappy players around the basket. A lot of them are taller than us, so we’ve had to establish ourselves on the defensive boards. That is going to help us in the long run when region play starts.”
Morgan County had a rough start to its season after going 20-8 last year and earning a second-round playoff berth. The roster lost only one player from this past year, so expectations were high.
However, the Lady Dogs started 0-3, with losses to three quality opponents but then won three straight. They went 2-4 over their next six games heading into the Wimberly Classic last week.
According to Franklin, his team has finally started to find its footing and put everything together.
“Our overall play and effort is what I am very pleased with,” he said. “Things have started to come to fruition and we’ve started playing our game. We still have a few kinks to work out on the offensive end, but that comes with time. Defensively, I think we’re playing better than we did early on.”
Players such as Young, Burke, Kymora Smith, and Destiny Smith have all played well. But others such as Benford, Madison Holcomb, and Miracle Ward have stepped up to play key roles.
Those six names have become some of Franklin’s most reliable players, but there are a few more that also contribute. Sasha Wilson and Taniyah Briney are dependable players as well.
“Precious (Benford) has stepped up with her play this year,” Franklin added. “Our freshmen also continue to play well with their tenacity. Overall, everyone is playing well at this point of the year.”
As Region 4-AAA play starts this Friday, Franklin has seen his team turn a corner for the better.
“The tournament went well. I felt like we gained some momentum going into region play,” Franklin said. “We were able to identify a few things that we corrected over the last three games.”
Currently, Cross Creek (9-4) and the Academy of Richmond County (5-5) are Morgan County’s biggest competition in the region. Hephzibah, Salem, and Harlem are all down at this point of the season.
This Friday, the Lady Dogs will host the Lady Musketeers of ARC at 6 p.m. in Madison. Next week, they’ll be on the road to face Salem (Jan. 9) in Conyers and Hephzibah (Jan. 12) in Augusta.
Franklin is looking forward to seeing if his team can keep its momentum heading into region play.
“As normal, Cross Creek is going to be good. ARC is pretty good as well,” Franklin said. “It’s going to be a dogfight for our region, but we are looking to make some noise. That will start on Friday.”