Houston County Lady Bears set the tone for the season to come, win at Warner Robins by 6

The gym at Warner Robins High School is warm in terms of temperature but in regards to being a nice place to play especially for the Houston County Lady Bears it has rarely been. Well times change and at least for the time being it was a nice toasty place to spend a cold Tuesday night as the Lady Bears opened their 2019-20 season with a 57-51 victory. The Lady Bears took a three-point halftime deficit and used the third quarter to change their fate, leading the Demonettes 48-34 after three quarters. 

Houston County forward TJ Lawrence scored 10 of her game-high 13 points during the quarter. At one point with the Lady Bears ahead 40-32 Lawrence converted three consecutive unanswered baskets to give Houston County their largest lead of the game to that point. She would foul out with 3:33 remaining in the fourth but the damage had already been done to that point. Lady Bears guard Jordan Johnson (10 points) did a good job of handling the Demonettes half-court pressure throughout the game but especially during the final quarter of play. Warner Robins would pull within eight points at 48-40 with just over six minutes to play following a layup by senior center Hayley Shepherd (10 points). They would be even closer when they cut the Houston County lead to just four points with just under a minute to play. 

The Lady Bears would hit their free throws late, including a couple from Skyler Bailey (13 points) and close the season opener with a victory in what remains a very tough place to play. Warner Robins junior guard Courtney Davis, the team’s most experienced player after years with the previous regime, only managed seven points (6 in the first quarter). Warner Robins got 15 of their 16 first quarter points from three-pointers. 

The Lady Bears will get the rest of this week off in anticipation of their game against Mays High School in Carrollton on Saturday, Nov. 23 (noon tip-off). The Demonettes will play at Jones County on Saturday.

HHJ News