Valdosta has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The Valdosta Wildcats and the Colquitt County Packers will face off at 6:00 p.m. on January 23rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Valdosta focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 29 last Saturday.
Valdosta struggled with assists last Saturday (Lowndes had eight more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Valdosta fell 57-47 to Lowndes. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Valdosta in their matchups with Lowndes: they've now lost three in a row.
Despite their defeat, Valdosta saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Nadia Gardner, who scored 17 points along with five steals, was perhaps the best of all. That was a full 36.2% of Valdosta's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Chasity Degale was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Valdosta struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Colquitt County earned a 39-29 win over Richmond Hill on Saturday. Given Colquitt County's advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 28th, while Richmond Hill is ranked 95th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Valdosta's defeat dropped their record down to 14-6. As for Colquitt County, their win bumped their record up to 15-3.
Everything went Valdosta's way against Colquitt County when the teams last played back in February of 2023 as Valdosta made off with a 53-27 victory. Does Valdosta have another victory up their sleeve, or will Colquitt County turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
