Squaws defeat East Laurens and

Dublin to finish 10-0 in sub-region

Dodge County News, February 4, 2009

By Chad W. Smith

The third ranked Dodge County High Squaws basketball team finished sub-region play with a perfect 10-0 record while improving their overall record to 20-2 with two big wins over East Laurens and Dublin on the road last week. The Squaws had no trouble defeating the Lady Falcons of East Laurens as they won 68-40 on Tuesday, January 27. The Squaws pulled out a huge win over the Lady Irish 65-54 in Dublin on Friday, January 30. The Squaws 10-0 sub-region record gives them a number one seed headed into the Region 3AA tournament to be held at Southeast Bulloch High School the week of February 17-21. The Squaws first game of the tournament will be at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 19. A win in this game assures them a spot in the state tournament. Check next week’s issue of The Dodge County News for a complete region tournament schedule.

On Tuesday, the Squaws jumped out to a 21-9 lead over East Laurens in the first quarter. Nisha Walker led the way with 11 of her game high 19 points. Dodge outscored the Lady Falcons 19-17 in the second quarter and held a 40-26 lead at the half. Janna Anderson and Staci Ross each had five points in the second to lead Dodge. Tahitia Butler scored nine points in the third quarter to lead Dodge to a 58-33 lead after three quarters. Butler again led with seven points in the fourth quarter as the Squaws won 68-40. Final scoring for the Squaws against East Laurens was: Nisha Walker, 19 points; Tahitia Butler, 18 points; Kemiya Harrell, 12 points; Michelle Mitchell, six points; Staci Ross, six points; Janna Anderson, five points; Courtni Howard, two points.

The Squaws traveled to Dublin on Friday, to face the Lady Irish. Dodge jumped out to 14-2 lead midway through the first quarter and lead 27-10 after one quarter. Janna Anderson hit three three-pointers to lead the Squaws in the quarter. Michelle Mitchell added eight points.  Dublin outscored Dodge 14-6 in the second quarter to cut the Squaws’ lead to 33-24 at the half. Yaleisa Burns, Nish Walker, and Mitchell each had a bucket in the quarter. The Lady Irish again outscored Dodge in the third quarter by 13-12 margin, but the Squaws still held the lead 45-37. Tahitia Butler and Mitchell head had four points to lead the Squaws in the quarter. Dublin opened the fourth quarter on a 13-5 run to tie the game for the first time at 50-50 with 2:28 left in the game. The Squaws never relinquished the lead as they outscored the Lady Irish 15-4 to in the last two minutes of the game led by Mitchell with five points and Nisha Walker with four points. The Squaws pulled out a 65-54 victory. Final scoring for the Squaws was: Michelle Mitchell, 21 points; Nisha Walker, 13 points; Tahitia Butler, 11 points; Janna Anderson 10 points; Yaleisa Burns, 6 points; Kemiya Harrell, four points.

The Squaws travel to Screven County on Friday, February 6 for tough matchup with the Lady Gamecocks (15-5) at 6:00 p.m. Dodge returns home for their final two regular season games on Tuesday, February 10 against Hawkinsville and Friday, February 13 against West Laurens for Senior Night. Both games begin at 6:00 p.m.