Clint Thompson
THOMASVILLE — Revenge was on the minds of the Thomasville Lady Bulldogs. So was a Holiday Hoopfest title.
Both were realized with Wednesday night’s rout at the local basketball tournament at Thomasville High School.
Playing a Bainbridge team that handed them their only loss of the season, the Lady Bulldogs exploded for a 28-11 lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 64-54 victory.
“Awesome, awesome feeling, wonderful feeling for a first-time head coach, and for the kids,” Thomasville coach Thomas MacAboy said, “definitely for the kids. They really wanted to play Bainbridge. They proved to me that they had the energy to come out and do what it takes to replace the loss over at their place.”
It was the third straight double-digit win for Thomasville, which beat Baker County on Monday and Pelham on Tuesday.
Defense highlighted Thomasville's first two tournament wins. Shooting, especially from behind the 3-point line, was the Lady Bulldogs' specialty Wednesday night. Whether it was Kierrica Spencer, Audreka Davis or Carmenonique Dawson, Thomasville was on fire with its perimeter shooting. Five long-treys sparked Thomasville's first-half run and it finished with seven treys in the game. Spencer, Davis and Dawson each had two 3-pointers and Alexia Brown added one as well.
“Sometimes you live and die by them, and we were able to live by them tonight,” MacAboy added.
In the second half, Thomasville attacked the basket constantly and was able to capitalize at the charity stripe. The Lady Bulldogs converted 13-of-20 from the free throw line after halftime.
“That was the halftime speech. If shots weren't falling, let’s attack the bucket — and the refs were making calls,” MacAboy said.
“The best two players from both teams fouled out. That's a testimony to both teams attacking the basket and getting a lot of shots inside in the second half.”
Dawson was the first to foul out with 2:52 remaining. She finished with 18 points. Bainbridge's Alexis Burke fouled out 41 seconds later and finished with 18 points.
Spencer played her best game of the tournament, tallying a game-high 21 points. After Dawson fouled out, Spencer took over as offensive leader. She sank 4-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“We rode her pretty hard in pregame about stepping up and being the point guard, and being a true point guard and not just a position player,” MacAboy said. “She has a big responsibility, and we're trying to get her to understand that and take it out on the court every night.”
