The Lady Greyhounds and Warner Robins may not contest one another within the same region at this time, but that didn’t do much to lessen the intensity on Tuesday night at the JCHS Gymnasium between two teams used to ending up in the state tournament.
Jones County rallied back after Warner Robins tried to put the game away in the third, getting within two points in the closing minutes before the Demonettes had just enough to seal a 70-62 win.
“Warner Robins will be playoff team. They give us something to measure ourselves against and see what we need to work on,” Jones County head coach Takeo Gray said.
JCHS capped last week with a 55-42 over Tift County in the Hype-South Hardwood Classic, improving to 2-1 on the season.
Both teams were a bit slow out of the gate with Warner Robins staking its way to a 38-32 lead at halftime before the Lady Hounds rallied to tie it at 42-42 with 5:27 to go in the third. That start, Gray said, is an area where JCHS is looking to improve.
“We need to get a better start in the first quarter. We hurt ourselves early with turnovers and some sloppy play,” Gray said.
Warner Robins tried to put some distance in, going on a 10-2 run capped by a layup off a turnover to lead 52-44 as 57 seconds remained in the third.
Jones County got back in it, helped by Autumn Coleman, as she knocked down one of her three three-point shots to bring the Lady Hounds within 60-54 prior to trailing 60-55 as Liberty Pennamon sank a free throw with 3:45 to play. Coleman brought JCHS else closer to the lead just inside three minutes to play, down 60-58 just before a free throw by Mya Anderson, who led JCHS with 16 points, evened things up at 60 as 2:31 remained.
Even after Warner Robins got an offensive answer, Jones County gave itself a chance on free throws by Aubrey Norris to trail 64-62 with 51 seconds to go, but the Demonettes got just enough on offensive over the final minute to get the win.
In addition to Anderson’s big scoring night to go with nine rebounds, Jones County got 12 points from Norris. Desirae Dumas added eight points and eight rebounds during a game in which the Lady Hounds closed with a strong finish despite the loss.
“If we can keep playing like that and minimize fouls, we’ll be fine,” Gray said.
