The Long County High School girls’ basketball team ended its drought Friday, defeating Bacon County, 31-27.  The victory was the Lady Tide’s first this season and also new head coach Kala Hires’ first win.
Long County Athletic Director Karen Swindell congratulated Hires on her first win as a head coach and predicted more are on the way for the Lady Tide team.
“Coach Hires has been working very hard with the players to get them ready for the season. She’s devoted countless hours to our program, and the players are buying into her way of doing things. She was an outstanding player at Richmond Hill, and I knew she would be successful as a coach,” Swindell said. “It is great to see her get her first win and without a doubt, she will get many more victories as a head coach. She believes in our students and works hard to help them be successful both on and off the court. She is definitely the right fit for our team and I look for many more wins under her leadership. I am proud of her win and I will continue to be her No. 1 fan. She is certainly an up-and-coming great coach and hopefully she can establish a winning tradition for Lady Tide basketball.”
With the win, the girls’ team improved its overall record to 1-5, while the Lady Raiders fell to 1-5.
The boys team dropped its second game in a row, losing 68-55 to the Red Raiders. With the loss, the Long County men dropped to 2-4 overall. Bacon County improved to 4-2.
Both teams were back on the court last night. The Tide hosted Liberty County High School for the first part of a two-game series. Last year, the boys Panthers won both of games against the Blue Tide, but this year the AAAA powerhouse is struggling. They went into the game with a 1-7 overall record. The Panthers are averaging 46 points a game in comparison to the Tide’s 57. On defense, the Tide are allowing 62 points in comparison to the Panthers allowing 57. Like the boys team, the Lady Panthers also started out slow this season. They went into their game against the Lady Tide with a 2-4 record following a 60-38 loss to Burke County.