Lady Tigers lose close region game at home

The Greene County girls basketball team hosted Lake Oconee Academy for the second installment of the region rivalry last Friday evening.

The Lady Tigers battled back from an early double-digit deficit and were within one point late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, head coach Derrick Williams’ squad didn’t have enough time to complete the comeback and eventually fell to the Lady Titans 53-47.

Williams acknowledged it was the team’s slow start in the first quarter that put them at a disadvantage for the rest of the contest.

“We played well, but the big thing is that we just started out slow. Against teams of their caliber, you can’t afford to start slow, and I think that put us in a hole at the beginning,” Williams said. “I’m proud of our effort, and the way the our girls balled. I saw a lot of things we did well that we can carry into our games coming up.”

Even though Greene County was behind 18-5 at the end of the first quarter, the team showed its resiliency throughout the rest of the contest.

The Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Titans by three in the second quarter, and it would have been more if not for a very deep 3-pointer from LOA’s Georgia Bosart as time expired.

With most of the momentum heading to the locker room at the half, the Lady Tigers continued to eat into the Lady Titans’ lead as the second half progressed.

Defensively, Greene County played more full-court press in the third quarter, which caused some problems for the opposing team. The Lady Tigers were able to turn steals into points, which flustered the Lady Titans’ offense.

On top of that, sophomores Sonovia Reynolds and Kieara Jernigan put their perseverance on full display and led the charge in the Lady Tigers’ comeback attempt.

Reynolds, who almost missed the game due to illness, led the Lady Tigers in scoring and was able to hit multiple 3-pointers late in the game, while Jernigan made her presence in the paint felt by dominating on the boards and scoring on putback opportunities.

Williams attributed the Lady Tigers’ offensive success to Reynolds and Jernigan being able to play with composure in pressure-filled situations.

“[Reynolds] told me before the game, ‘there’s no way I’m not playing in this game,’ so that was a good sign because she was motivated. [Jernigan] has played well the past couple of games and looks like she did last year,” Williams said. “You look at both of those girls, and in the big picture of things, they’re only sophomores. That’s something to build on the rest of this season and into the next.”

The Lady Tigers caught fire in the final quarter and made it a one-possession game with about two-and-a-half minutes left in the contest.

Reynolds made a shot from beyond the arc to cut Lake Oconee Academy’s lead to one point shortly after, but Greene County was unable to take the lead.

As they did in the third quarter, the Lady Titans capitalized on their opportunities from the charity stripe and made it difficult for the Lady Tigers to finish the comeback off.

Even though it wasn’t the result Williams and his team wanted from a rivalry game, he believes his team will be able to use the contest as a learning experience for tough matchups down the road.

“We just can’t come out flat. Whether it’s in the pregame warmups or at the beginning of the game, we just have to start with more energy, and I think we can compete with anyone,” Williams said. “Overall, I’m pleased with the way our girls have been playing recently. Even after the loss, the girls’ spirits were up because they know they can compete against good teams.”

The region tournament is right around the corner, and Greene County currently sits at third in Region 8A.

The Lady Tigers close out the regular season with two home games against Towns County (Wednesday) and Lincoln County (Friday). They’re hoping to feed off last week’s loss to LOA and find some momentum heading into the postseason.