Morgan County girls basketball enters the Class AAA state playoffs as the No. 2 seed from Region 4-AAA.
The Lady Dogs (19-7) are matched up against No. 3 seed Long County (17-8) in the first round, and they will face the Lady Blue Tide on Tuesday.
Morgan County first-year head coach Milfred Franklin is excited about the opportunity.
“We’ve definitely already exceeded my expectations in my first year, but one of our main goals is still intact,” Franklin said. “We wanted to get further than we did last year in the state playoffs.”
In order to get to the Sweet 16, the Lady Dogs have to get past a tough Long County squad. The Lady Blue Tide is coming off a 40-38 win over Savannah Country Day on Saturday.
Franklin made the trip to south Georgia on Saturday to scout his opponent and came away impressed. Still, the first-year coach believes his squad “matches up well” with Long County.
“They have multiple fives (post players) on the inside. They have two of them. One is 6-foot-1 and the other is 6-foot,” Franklin said of the Lady Blue Tide’s inside presence. “One of them is a very high-energy, high-active player The other just is a great post player. They’re very physical and love to play an inside-out game. But, I believe our guards match up very well against them.”
Morgan County will rely on Jaden Young, Kiwi Lane and Kymora Smith against Long County. These three guards have been the Lady Dogs’ main ball handlers during the season.
Franklin is looking for Young, Lane and Smith to control the tempo of the game, but also to attack the paint in an attempt to get the Lady Blue Tide’s two post players into foul trouble.
“It’s going to be a great overall matchup, especially with the things they do well compared to the things we do well,” Franklin said. “My players are ready for the challenge.”
Morgan County and Long County will tip off on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.