TIFTON — Tift County’s Lady Devils and Veterans shared in Region 1-6A’s highest basketball honors.
Tift figured in four of the five top awards on the list. Jalaya Miller earned Offensive Player of the Year and Mariyah Batts was Newcomer of the Year.
Caitlyn Burgess and Rionna Byrd shared Defensive Player of the Year and Julie Conner-Johnson and Randall Owens shared Coach of the Year after the two teams finished at the top of the standings. Veterans’ Gabby Minus was 1-6A’s Player of the Year.
Batts, a freshman, literally has the Lady Devils in good hands for the future as a point guard.
Miller is at 370 points per the season, an average of 13 per game, with a season high of 20 against Veterans in the region finals. Perhaps Tift’s most versatile and most athletic player, Miller is a tremendous defender, rebounder and shot blocker and can shoot from anywhere on the court.
Burgess surpassed 1,000 points for her career during the 2023-24 campaign and is now at 1,100 points. Her season high was 36 at Thomas County Central and she averages 17 points per game.
Conner-Johnson has a career high with the Lady Devils Friday with her 25th win of the season.
On top of the individual awards, two more Lady Devils made first team All-Region, Faith Hillmon and Jimmya Cushion.
Cushion, nearing 1,000 career points as a junior, averages 15 points per contest for Tift. One game after Burgess scored 36 on TCC, Cushion lit up Northside for 31. Hillmon, Tift’s force on the boards, averages 6.5 points per game.
Second team picks for the Lady Devils are Makayla Bryant and Makala Horne. It was a score by Horne that secured the No. 1 seed in the region tournament for Tift and, thus, the privilege of hosting. Bryant, starting point guard, dazzles with her passes while making defenders pay if they fail to cover her.
Tift head coach Tommy Blackshear said two Blue Devils, Corey Howard and TeShawn Bryant, earned honorable mention on the boys All-Region list.
Both players averaged 7 points per game this year, with Tift advancing to its 30th consecutive state tournament. Howard was the team’s leading scorer at 210 points. He is only a sophomore while Bryant is a senior.
Jalaiah Rainey earned honorable mention for the Lady Devils. She scored a career high 11 against Cook in January.