The Lithia Springs Lady Lions were 7-5 overall and 5-1 in region play last week as they entered the second half of their season, anticipating the first game of the new year against Villa Rica on Jan. 4.

“It’s at their place so we need to play 10 points better than we normally would. It’s a pivotal game and if we win that’ll put us two points over everyone in our subregion…Going into the season I pegged Villa Rica at the top of the region,” said head coach David Mills.

Lithia Springs finished the first half of their season with a 61-26 win over Banneker to wrap up a rough series in the Carrollton Holiday Tournament on Dec. 22.

“We didn’t do as good as we would have liked, but we got some competition out of [Greater Atlanta Christian] and Monroe. Then we came back on Saturday and kind of whupped up on Banneker,” said Mills.

Mills noted that the team’s top scorer, Tashara Jones, did not play in the victory due to school issues. However, Mills said that given Jones’ absence, the team came together and realized they could no longer rely on her to score, leading to 10 players contributing points to the final score.

As for the defensive side of the team, Mills said his team mostly runs a zone, causing their defense to be more of a team effort and not allowing anyone to take all the responsibility.

Mills said there is one player that tends to get isolated the most, Selena Crummie. A 5-foot-11 senior power forward, Crummie averages four blocked shots a night.

“She’s got broad shoulders and long arms, but aside from that she’s always just had a natural ability to block shots since she was a freshman,” Mills said.

Overall, Mills said the season has been one of streaks and his team has been competitive on most nights.

Having six seniors on the roster, Mills said the senior leadership is their strength and he feels good about his girls.

With the second half of the season containing key region games, Mills said he only worries about his team giving up too many points.