202223 GIRLS SEASON PREVIEW
There are two ways for the Lady Greyhounds to look back on last season.
On one hand, they showed grit and a no-quit mentality as the season went on, and that paid off as they willed their way into another state tournament appearance.
The other side of the coin, however, is that there’s a desire to exceed getting to the first round, which has been the case the past two seasons.
“Last year, we were just glad to be in the state tournament. This year, our goal is to get further.
Our record needs to be better. We want to be higher up in the region and be competing for a region championship at the end of the year,” Lady Greyhounds head coach ChoRhonda Gwaltney-Harris said. “Last year, we lost a bunch of games because we were not basketball-savvy enough to finish those games.
This year, the expectation is for us to play better in that.”
As Jones County goes into the season, it’ll have a wealth of experience.
To be exact, eight players return from last year’s team. That begins in the backcourt with Shakiya Betha, who has plenty of experience not just in being able to generate points, but also running the Lady Hounds offense.
More scoring punch returns with the athletic Amaris Ridgeway, a state track and field qualifier last spring in the triple jump.
In the front court, Shania Bryant is more than capable of helping to lead rebounding efforts and making plays close to the basket while on the perimeter, a leaner than a season before version of Carlie Skinner will look to build on last season’s campaign where she became one of the team’s top three-point threats.
“She’s in the best shape that she’s been in.
Conditioning and being in shape, that’s the name of the game,” Gwaltney-Harris said. “She can move better and now, if someone comes at her, she can shot-fake and she’s gotten better on defense, too.”
But that experience gets another layer, too, with Kimmya Epps being back and ready to go after being out with an injury since two years ago. Epps’ biggest asset? Basketball IQ.
“She’s a basketball savant; she knows basketball,” Gwaltney-Harris said of Epps. “She’s just someone that knows how to play. She knows where the spot is on the floor and how to get there and how to get by people without the speed and quickness.”
The Lady Hounds won’t have to wait long to have a chance to make an early move in the region standings. The region opener is Nov. 29 at home against Union Grove with region road games Dec. 6 and 9 at Warner Robins and Locust Grove.
Mixed in with non-region matchups before the Christmas break will be Dec. 13 at Eagles Landing and Dec. 16 against Ola, providing the chance to be in good position going into the new year in the region standings.
“The biggest thing for us will be playing together on offense and defense,” Gwaltney-Harris said. “If we can get to the point where we can share the ball and trust each other on defense, we’ll be hard to stop.”
