Irmo falls to top-ranked Clover in Class 5A Upper State final

THOMAS GRANT JR.
chroniclesports@yahoo.com
Posted 2/29/20

Irmo girls basketball team’s quest to reach the Class 5A championship game ended Saturday at Bon Secours Arena in Greenville. 

A 3-point shooting barrage during a 24-3 scoring run helped …

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Irmo falls to top-ranked Clover in Class 5A Upper State final

Posted

Irmo girls basketball team’s quest to reach the Class 5A championship game ended Saturday at Bon Secours Arena in Greenville. 

A 3-point shooting barrage during a 24-3 scoring run helped top-ranked Clover earn a 67-47 victory over the 2nd ranked Lady Yellow Jackets at the Class 5A Upper State final.

The loss snapped a 14-game winning streak by the Lady Yellow Jackets (24-4), who were making their 1st semifinal appearance since 2015. Senior Jayla Lovett finished with a team-high 15 points and Ehrial Wagstaff and Maliyiah Mason each had 9 points in the loss. 

After Clover took a 15-13 lead into the 2nd quarter, All-State guard Ayleshia Wade hit the 1st of her team’s 4 straight from behind the arc and 5 in the 2nd quarter.

This began the game-turning run for the Lady Blue Eagles. Among with the 3-pointers was a highlight reel worthy assist by La’Destiny Worthy. 

She chased down an errant pass from teammate Ashley Farmer as it was headed out of bounds at her basket. As Worthy saved the basketball, she threw a no-look backward pass over her head that bounced into the hands of Farmer for a layup. 

Clover outscored Irmo 20-3 in the 2nd quarter to take a commanding 36-15 advantage. 

“Our body language was bad and we just did not recover,” said Irmo head coach Monica Williams about the 2nd quarter. “We just did not make the plays and our defense let us down tonight. But give credit to Clover. They played really well.” 

Things worsened for Irmo in the 3rd quarter as Mariana Ballard connected on the 8th of Clover’s 9 3-pointers to extend their lead to 53-29. Ballard finished with 16 points. 

Clover pushed its lead as high as 29 points before they emptied the bench in the 4th quarter. A steal and layup by Lovett with 1:02 left helped Irmo avoid its lowest point total of the season.

A tearful Lovett slumped back to the Irmo bench in the final seconds consoled by an assistant coach. 

Clover will face defending Class 5A champion Goose Creek, a 33-26 overtime winner over Wando, in Friday’s state final. 

Despite the loss, Williams remained proud of her senior class. 

“I tell you what, this senior class is amazing,” she said. “To do what we did this year and win this many games and be region champions, this game doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t take away from anything we’ve done. I’m proud of our seniors.”

Williams, Irmo, basketball

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