Jubilation broke out immediately after the Thomson High Lady Bulldogs upset the Region-3-AAA Washington County Lady Golden Hawks 38-35 in basketball action at The Dog House in Thomson last Saturday night.
"We've been playing pretty well lately," said Thomson head coach Michael Williams following his team's big win. "This was just another example of how well we've been playing."
The keys to the victory over WACO, who had come into the game against Thomson, having lost just once this season, were executing the game plan and playing solid defense, said Williams.
"We played real well together as a team and were able to make a number of comfortable shots," he added.
With the region tournament just around the corner, he feels the win over Washington County might help his team capture the fourth or fifth place seed. This year's region tournament will be held in Dublin during the week of Feb. 16-20.
Two of the star players for Thomson talked about what the win meant to them.
"It feels great," remarked Asheleigh Burnett, a sophomore forward, who preserved the Thomson win with a steal of the ball in the waning seconds.
Down the stretch, Burnett admitted she got tired, but that didn't stop her and teammates.
"I knew I had to fight through it," added Burnett, who tossed in eight points.
Another player equally excited about the victory was Natasha Ballard, the senior point guard, who bucketed 10 points.
"It was a real big win for us," said Ballard. "We hustled to the ball all night and played good D (defense)."
Three other Thomson players also played well and scored in the game against WACO, now 18-2 on the season after the loss to the Lady Bulldogs. Those players included Brittany Reid, 10, Nekia NcNair, 6 and Ke'Onda Bradshaw, 4 points, respectively.
Earlier in the season, WACO handed Thomson a big loss when the two teams met in Sandersville.
"I was real proud of how well the team played WACO here in Thomson," said Williams.
The night before (Friday), Thomson traveled to Hinesville where they tangled with the Lady Panthers of Liberty County. The Lady Bulldogs ended up losing a 46-43 heartbreaker to the Lady Panthers.
"We played well enough to win that game, but just couldn't pull it out in the end," lamented Williams.
In a losing cause, Thomson's McNair put on one of the best offensive displays this season scoring 14 points. Ballard added12 points -- the only other player on the Thomson team to have scored in double-figures.
Thomson's next game is against West Laurens in Dublin on Saturday night.
