Augusta, GA
‘I know she’s smiling’: Local coach’s influence lives on
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – As the graduates from Cross Creek High School file in to take their seats, joy in the James Brown Arena is palpable.
Everywhere you look, there’s a loved one celebrating.
Quanda Ball should be one of them.
The 43-year-old’s body was found in a car at Pendleton King Park Tuesday. Investigators are calling her death “suspicious.”
“She would have been clapping and yelling and screaming,” said Krystle Johnson. “She would have been really proud.”
Ball never had any children of her own, but it’s fair to say, she still had a lot of kids.
Krystle Johnson met Ball through a mutual friend when they were looking for a coach for the Lady Grinders, a local girls travel basketball team. She says Ball instantly became family to the girls on the team.
“She was that Auntie that they needed,” Johnson laughed.
Just ask Michaela Bogans.
She started playing for “Coach Q” in the 6th grade.
“I know she’s smiling right now,” Bogans said.
Bogans will be playing at the next level next year; she signed to play Division I basketball at Morgan State and leaves for Baltimore in July.
Bogans helped lead Cross Creek to four region titles and the Lady Razorbacks’ first-ever state championship.
“Coach Q, she means a lot to me. She was amazing. She told me I could do anything that I put my mind to,” Bogans said. “She was an inspiration to me. I looked up to her.”
Ball was quite the baller herself, playing D I ball for William and Mary.
Before that, she helped lead Curtis Baptist to the 1996 GISA state championship. The following year, she played for Richmond Academy and helped her team win the 1997 GHSA AAA High School State Championship. They were the first-ever team from Augusta to win a state championship in Class AAA.
“She was a really good person,” said Tiara Turner, a 2024 grad from Cross Creek. “A nice person. A good coach – a GREAT coach.”
Turner has been playing for Coach Q since middle school. Cross Creek teammate and fellow 2024 graduate Alaya Henry says she learned a lot about life from Coach Q.
“I had a game where I walked out of the gym, and she followed me out there and told me to tighten up – do it for the team,” said Henry. “Can’t just think about yourself no more.”
On this day of celebration, the Cross Creek graduates are thinking about others; they’re reflecting on how they each got to this point. For the young ladies Coach Q mentored, that means celebrating Coach Q’s impact, too.
“There’s a song that we would sing in church called ‘May The Work That I’ve Done Speak For Me,” Johnson said. “And I hope the work that Quanda has done in our community – especially with our girls – continues to live on.”
As an AAU coach, she wasn’t just a mentor for girls at Cross Creek; she coached girls in schools all across Richmond County.
When she wasn’t on the court, Ball also worked as a nurse, dedicating her life to caring for others.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Volunteers came together Saturday to help clean up an Augusta neighborhood.
The cleanup took place on Wheeless Road and Dorn Road.
Jeremiah Atkinson started the event as a way to clean up trash dumped in the area and help the community.
He said they had at least 30 bags picked up as of Saturday morning.
“My message is if you see one piece of trash, pick it up and help Augusta clean it up because I feel like that would be more efficient, just pick up one piece of trash a day, just one to help out the community,” Atkinson said.
Organizers also provided snacks for volunteers.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
TikToker cleans father’s hoarded house – and goes viral
Madison Lovelle posts videos online while going through and cleaning her childhood home after her father died.
Housing costs are often the biggest Georgians deal with every month, so it’s important to try and save money where possible.
Last week, WalletHub released its ranking of the most affordable cities to buy a home. It analyzed 300 cities based on 10 metrics, with the biggest weight going to housing affordability and cost per square foot.
Best city to buy a home in Georgia?
Augusta ranked the highest among Georgia cities, ranking 8th overall and 3rd best in the midsized cities list.
Augusta real estate prices
According to Zillow, as of March, the median list price for a house in Georgia is $205,000 with a median sale price of $187,283. About 57% of sales are under the list price.
The average rent, as of April, is $1,365 per month.
Augusta cost of living
The MIT Living Wage Calculator reports the hourly pay needed to support yourself and/or your family, assuming full-time employment. For Richmond County (Augusta), it’s $20.31 for one adult, $28.16 for a two-adult household with one working, and $14.08 for a two-adult household with both working.
Children obviously increase the wage needed. Depending on how many adults are working, the necessary pay figures may increase by up to $13 for just one child, with more needed for additional children.
Worst city to buy a home in Georgia?
The Georgia city with the lowest ranking on the list overall was Sandy Springs. However, with 300 cities, landing at No. 151 doesn’t make it nearly the worst in the nation. Sandy Springs was No. 56 on the small cities list.
What are the best cities to buy a home in US?
- Flint, MI
- Detroit, MI
- Surprise, AZ
- Yuma, AZ
- Akron, OH
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Memphis, TN
- Augusta, GA
- Indianapolis, IN
- Cleveland, OH
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Senate candidate Derek Dooley made several visits to the area on Friday.
Dooley had stops in both Lincolnton and Augusta on May 29 and was joined by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for his “Georgia First” tour. He spoke about one of the issues he finds in politics.
“But the other piece of it is the corruption. People sit on these committees. They have access to information that none of us have. And then you look up 2 or 3 years down the road and their wealth is just skyrocketing,” Dooley said. “You’re outperforming every investor out there. And I think it’s shameful. I think it erodes trust. It’s something that I will never do.”
“Politicians were out there getting paid. They were coming back home. They’re raising money and campaigning while the government shut down,” Kemp said. “What Derek’s saying, if he’s up there, we’re not going to allow legislators to get paid. We’re going to take away their benefits. That way, you won’t ever have another shutdown again.”
Dooley is facing Congressman Mike Collins in a runoff for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
The winner of the Republican nomination will face incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
Photojournalist credit: Regynal McKie
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