The 2022/2023 Vidalia High School Varsity Basketball season got off to a good start Saturday for both the Lady Indians and Indians as they swept East Laurens in the Annual STC Tipoff Classic. The Lady Indians outscored East Laurens 38-14 in the second half to pull away for a 64-49 win, while the Indians overcame a slow start to win 63-61.

In the girl’s game, the Lady Indians trailed 35-26 at the half but outscored the Lady Falcons 17-8 in the third quarter and 21-6 in the fourth quarter to notch first-year head coach Kourtnee Williams the first win of her career.

The Lady Indians were led by sophomores Kaliya Walker (19 pts) and Cori Warner (25 pts), who combined for 44 points to get the Lady Indians off to a 1-0 start on the young season.

In the Boy’s game, Tommy Dalley’s young Indian team got off to a slow start in the first quarter, trailing 20-10 heading into the second period. But the Indians began chipping away at the lead, closing the gap to just six points at the intermission.

The Indians came out in the second half and took control of the game, shooting 62.5% from the floor in the fourth quarter to get the win. Cori Mincey with 26 points and Jayon Coleman with 16 led the way for the Indians, who will now face Jefferson Co. Tuesday on the tournament’s final day.

Tuesday’s STC Tournament schedule gets underway at 4:00 PM with a girl’s contest between East Laurens and West Laurens. That will be followed by the boys of East and West Laurens at 5:30. The Lady Indians will take the floor at 7:00 against 5A Coffee, followed by the nightcap at 8:30 with the Indians and Jefferson County. (Courtesy of Vidalia Athletics)