The Long County High School girls’ basketball team had its season end Tuesday with a 59-39 loss to Bryan County in the Region 2-AA Region tournament in Lyons.
“We just looked really tired from the victory over Toombs County the night before,” Lady Tide head coach Brian Todd said. “We got in around midnight, and our girls seemed to really have the dead legs.”
Though fatigue may have played a part in Tuesday’s game, another area of concern came when two Lady Tide starters got into early foul trouble.
“Malaka (Elix) and Katie (Estill) were in foul trouble and didn’t play much at all in the second quarter,” Todd said.
Elexxus Wrighton led Long County with 13 points, while Estill scored seven points.
“Lexi (Wrighton) not only led us in scoring, but also grabbed an amazing 31 rebounds in the defeat,” Todd said. “She has been a warrior for us all year. She played the entire game, except for the last 45 seconds.”
The coach also praised the individual play of Kicha May and Elix.
The Lady Tide finished their season with a 5-22 record. Even though the team would have liked to have picked up a few more wins, Todd said that he feels that the season was a success.
“We’re not measuring success by a win total,” he said. “I feel we improved so much from the start … we grew us a team, and I feel we developed chemistry towards the end of the season.”
Todd also said that he is optimistic about next season and should have the majority of his team back. Twelve of the team’s 14 players are underclassmen, including all five starters (Estill, Elix, Wrighton, Keshawdra Cooper, and Keke Calhoun), plus key reserves Kat Wingate, Tyronica Johnson and Sam Garcia.
Todd said that he hopes to get in a good summer program with the team, which already is scheduled to attend three camps and an all-female weight program.
“I feel like we are turning this program around in the right direction through hard work, and it doesn’t hurt when your best players are your hardest workers,” Todd said.