MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County and Tift County eighth-grade girls basketball teams had met twice this season before squaring off in the conference championship game on Thursday in Tifton.
The Lady Devils won the first meeting by five points in Moultrie.
The Lady Packers evened the series with a one-point victory in Tifton.
Colquitt’s girls had to go back to Tifton on Thursday, but repaid the Lady Devils with a 39-38 victory to claim the championship.
The Lady Packers trailed by eight after the first quarter, but battled back to cut their deficit to one at the half and to tie the game at 29-29 heading into the final quarter.
Colquitt led by four with just seconds to play when Tift County sank a 3-pointer to cut the Lady Packers lead to a single point.
But the Lady Packers were able to get the ball in bounds and run out the final seven seconds to get the title.
Colquitt’s roster is made up primarily of girls who played on the eighth-grade team last year as seventh-graders and won just four games.
This season, the girls finished 14-3.
Colquitt’s girls were led by Nacardia Robinson, who had 24 points.
Aundrea Thomas had seven and Kamya Thomas had five.
Sixth-grader Kendall Pettis played the entire game for the Lady Packers.
“Hopefully this success will carry over,” coach Kim Taylor said, adding that the girls played together as a team last summer and went on to accompany Colquitt County’s junior varsity team to its game on Friday in Douglas.
The rest of the team’s roster includes Ryeigh McCray, Ryhe Pinkins, Kaitlyn Edmonson, Azaria Battle, Kylie Pettis, Meghan Breedlove, Jordyn Reddick and Ta’Ayona Singletary.