Houston ladies punch ticket to GHSA tourney; Williams, Johnson, White and Arline gain offers

Coach Daniell Johnson and the Houston Lady Bears have won the 2021-2022 region 1-AAAAAA (1-6A) title. On last Friday, the HOCO women’s basketball team hosted the Lee County Lady Trojans (Leesburg, Georgia) in the region championship game. The first half of basketball was mostly an offensive game. Houston County showcased a lot of ball-movement, screens and attacking of the basket. The Lady Bears was hot, early on, but then the Lady Trojans closed the gap. Houston’s Alexis Williams scored off the easy mid-range jumper, as the first quarter came to an end. The Lady Bears lead going into the second period, 13-11. Jordyn Johnson also came into the second quarter with the hot-hand. Johnson began to torch the net, scoring over ten points in the first half of play. Lee County managed to tie the ball game, with 3:43 left in the first half. Tied at 17, Marquia White gave her team momentum, as she was dominant on the boards. McKenzie Arline was fierce in her methods of attacking the Lady Trojan defense, while wrecking havoc on the opposing end of the hardwood. The Houston Lady Bears went into halftime with the 26-21 lead. The second half of the region title game was all defenses. The third period was a offensive struggle, for both teams. For the Houston Lady Bears, seven points were all that could be scored. The Houston ladies only scored two points from the field, but scored the remaining points from the free-throw line. As for Lee County, the Houston Lady Bears held the Lady Trojans to only three total points, in the third. The HOCO Lady Bears lead after three, 33-25. After a sluggish third quarter, the Lady Trojans entered the final period on a 10-2 run. This run made the game interesting, but the run was too little, too late for Lee County. The ladies from Houston closed out their final region game of their 2021-2022 campaign. The Lady bears won 44-40, to claim another region 1-6A title. Jordyn Johnson finished with 21 points, Marquia White had nine points, McKenzie Arline and Alexis Williams, added seven points. The Lee County Lady Trojans finished 18-6 overall and will head into the GHSA State 6A tournament as the second seed from region one. On another note, the Houston Lady Bears are ranked as the eleventh best team in class 6A. The Lady Bears are on the bottom right side of the bracket, which features some powerhouse teams. Other than Houston, the Bradwell Institute.

Lady Tigers (Hinesville, Georgia) are the tops teams on their side. Legendary coach Faye Baker’s, Lady Tigers are the 12th ranked team in the Peach state. Alexis Williams, Jordyn Johnson, Marquia White and McKenzie Arline are the senior Houston ladies that have led them to this point. Williams, Johnson, White and Arline, gained offers after last week’s region title win. Brescia University and Denmark Technical College, offered Alexis Williams the opportunity to play at the collegiate level. McKenzie Arline, Jordyn Johnson and Marquia White also received collegiate offers from Denmark Technical College and Brescia University. Jordyn Johnson has since gained collegiate offers from Glen Oaks Community College, Coastal Alabama Community College and Great Lakes Christian College, in Michigan. Of the uncommitted seniors, Williams, Johnson, White and Arline were selected to all-region teams. Alexis Williams and Marquia White were named 2nd team all-region 1-6A. Jordyn Johnson and McKenzie Arline were named to the region 1-6A All-Region first team. Johnson was also named region 1-6A women’s co-player of the year, while Coach Daniell Johnson was awarded coach-of-the-year honors. Houston County has become a recruiting trail for colleges/universities and these string of recruits are just some who have left the area. Former Lady Bear, Skylar Bailey, is currently at the University Of Central Arkansas. Coach Daniell Johnson has created a program of excellence in Houston. The Houston Lady Bears are 20-4 on the year; finishing 7-1 in the region The Lady Bears have scored 1,223 points and have allowed 954 points. 14-2 at home and 6-2 on the road, these ladies are looking relentless to the finish. The Houston Lady Bears will compete in the first round of the GHSA 6A State tournament on February 22-23. As the host, the Houston ladies will play a 7-16 Heritage (Conyers). The winner of this contest will advance to the sweet 16, playing the winner of the Sequoyah/ East Paulding game, on February 25-26.

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