Dougherty girls show fight in summer games

ALBANY — Most coaches don’t walk out of a gym encouraged after watching their team lose twice in the same afternoon.

Dougherty girls basketball coach Ervin Josey did exactly that Tuesday.

The Lady Trojans dropped a 39-29 decision to Monroe and then suffered a heartbreaking sudden-death overtime loss to Miller County. Still, Josey left Monroe High School convinced his team is moving in the right direction as the summer schedule nears its conclusion.

“This month of June has really taught me a lot about the type of players we have and the foundation we’re building,” Josey said. “I truly believe these girls are going to be ready when the season arrives.”

That confidence has been built throughout a productive summer. Even after Tuesday’s setbacks, Dougherty sits at 9-3 heading into Saturday’s trip to Florida State to close out the month.

The Lady Trojans’ first challenge came against a Monroe team fresh off a 3-1 weekend at the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Live Period at LakePoint Sports Complex in Emerson.

The Lady Nadas were without leading scorer Kie’Aundria Acree and head coach Jennifer Acree, who were attending a college visit at Rutgers University, but Monroe still found enough offense to pull away.

After the teams were tied 2-2 early, Monroe seized control behind the shooting of Taylor McKinzy.

Her first 3-pointer gave Monroe a 9-2 advantage, and another from beyond the arc just before halftime pushed the Lady Nadas’ lead to 27-14.

Dougherty refused to go away.

Rising sophomore Reginae Hill buried a long 3-pointer midway through the second half to trim the deficit to 33-25. Dariona Simmons and T.K. Harris helped fuel the comeback effort as the Lady Trojans matched Monroe’s intensity and briefly threatened to make things interesting.

Monroe answered behind the play of Maleyah Hines, Mariah Toye and Glendalys Harvey to secure the 39-29 victory.

“Against Monroe tonight, our girls competed hard and played well enough to stay in the game,” Josey said. “We matched their intensity, but consistency has to become who we are. We missed too many easy opportunities around the basket, and that made the difference. Staying the course is what we’re going to hang our hat on throughout the preseason.”

If the Monroe game showed Dougherty’s competitiveness, the second game of the day showed the Lady Trojans’ resilience.

After moving to Monroe’s auxiliary gym, Dougherty and Miller County battled through a back-and-forth contest that neither team could control for long.

A late jumper by Simmons gave Dougherty a brief lead before the Lady Pirates answered. The game then took an unusual turn when coaches serving as officials disagreed on a foul call. Following a lengthy discussion, former Calhoun County girls coach Cornelius Walker, now the head coach at Westside-Macon, stepped in to officiate the remainder of the contest.

The teams remained deadlocked entering the final seconds.

With the score tied 25-25, Dougherty’s Joniyah Jones banked in a basket to give the Lady Trojans a 27-25 lead.

For a moment, it appeared Dougherty had stolen the victory.

Instead, Miller County answered with a basket as the buzzer sounded, forcing sudden-death overtime.

The Lady Trojans had the first opportunity to score in overtime but came up empty. Moments later, a foul sent Miller County to the free-throw line, where the Lady Pirates converted the game-winning point.

“Against Miller County, it was another good, competitive game,” Josey said. “Once again, we struggled to finish around the basket for some odd reason. Sometimes those types of games happen. What I loved most was that our girls continued to fight until the final buzzer, and I applaud them for their newfound effort and commitment.”

While the ending was disappointing, Josey believes the bigger picture remains bright.

“I’m really excited about where we are,” Josey said. “We still have plenty of work to do, but I love the direction we’re headed. These young ladies are learning, competing, and growing together, and that’s what June basketball is all about.”

Monroe, meanwhile, completed a successful final home playdate of the summer with a 44-15 victory over Berrien.

The Lady Nadas raced to a 19-2 halftime lead and never looked back. With Acree unavailable, Monroe received valuable contributions from younger players, including Thomasville transfer Justyce Cole and incoming freshman Gloria Parker of Radium Springs Middle School.

Monroe finished the day 2-0 and continued building momentum heading toward the end of its summer schedule.