“A shock and a wake-up call” is how Greyhounds head coach Takeo Gray referred to it.
All the way back to February of 2024, the Lady Greyhounds had turned away all challengers when it came to teams in their own region. All of last season and through the region tournament, Jones County did not lose a single region game. But all streaks at some point must end, and the Lady Hounds’ string of 24 region victories in a row did on Saturday in a 51-46 loss at Stockbridge.
No loss is desired, but if there was ever a good time for a loss, it could be well timed for Jones County, which wraps up its pre-Christmas schedule Friday at home against Hampton before playing at Putnam County Saturday.
With a loss coming so early with a handful of games left in the first half of the season, it allows Jones County to refocus and recenter.
“I’d rather it happen now than later. This is our first in-season adversity; we can work on it,” Gray said. “You never want to lose, but now they’ve woken up and they see some stuff we need to fix. I know we’ll fix it, and it’ll pay off later this year.”
Saturday’s loss came on the heels on Tuesday’s 63-15 win against a hapless Locust Grove team and 56-33 on Friday against Ola. Aubrey Norris and Kamiyah Adams each scored 12 points against the Wildcats on a night where a total of nine Lady Hounds scored at least a point.
Saturday’s loss came in the Lady Greyhounds first region road game of the year that was also within a tighter time turnaround, tipping off in the afternoon after playing the night before.
But the Lady Hounds, who began this week 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the region, are not trotting out any excuses.
“I know we played early after a Friday game, but they did, too. The officiating, it’ll be different on the road than at home. That’s some stuff we have to deal with. We have to play a lot of road games after Christmas, so we’ll have to adjust.”
JCHS was in position to take control coming away from halftime, down 24-23 before a five-point third quarter ended up being the cushion that the Tigers would need as they went on to win 51-46.
The Lady Hounds get a rematch with Stockbridge Jan. 23, the only region game of the season’s final nine at home. Jones County is confident of its ability to be in a strong position to win the region when that time comes, and the Lady Hounds aim to repeat as region champions.
“I still feel really good about the region,” Gray said. “Last year was last year; this year is this year. Every game, we will get everyone’s best shot, so we have to be on our Ps and Qs every game.”
