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Wes McCard

Sports Editor

The Upson-Lee Lady Knights (7-17) have won exactly one region tournament game since the 2005-2006 season. That victory came in a 55-50 victory over Jones County two years ago. The Lady Knights had another chance to earn a region tournament victory on Monday night when they played the Lady Golden Eagles from Eagles Landing (4-16) in the Region 4 Tournament on Monday night. The result of that game was not available by press time, but can be found on our website, www.thomastontimes.com, and Facebook page.

The Lady Knights took on Eagles Landing back on Dec. 11, suffering a 55-45 defeat. However, in that game the Lady Knights were missing two senior starters. Tykeela Gray and UL’s leading scorer Jasmine Davis both missed the game.

“We will have to play well to get the victory,” said Lady Knights head coach Bart Phillips. “We need to play like we have been playing in the last couple of weeks of the season. I expect them to try and put pressure on our ball handlers, so we will need to take care of the ball. I also think having Davis and Gray back will help us. That’s a little over 20 points per game which we did not have when we played them the first time.”

With a victory over Eagles Landing on Monday night, the Lady Knights would move on to face the Lady Cardinals from Jonesboro (21-3) tonight at 7 p.m. The winner of that game would move to the Region Tournament semi-finals and advance to the State Playoffs. The Lady Knights are 0-2 versus Jonesboro this season, losing 67-28 on the road and 53-37 at home.

“Our girls are excited about the chance of playing Jonesboro again,” said Phillips. “The last time we played them it was a three-point game with just four minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Their athleticism took over and they ended up beating us by 18 points. They are a very good team; you don’t get to be ranked No. 4 in the state for nothing. If we get past Eagles Landing, we will be loose in the game against Jonesboro. We have nothing to lose, and they have all the pressure on them. Hopefully we can get past Eagles Landing and get a shot at Jonesboro.”

Look in Friday’s edition of The Times, or go to www.thomastontimes.com or our Facebook page for up to date results.