HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS - Irmo, River Bluff and Airport girls win playoff openers

Top-seed Lexington stunned by James Island

THOMAS GRANT JR.
chroniclesports@yahoo.com
Posted 2/18/20

Irmo, River Bluff and Airport girls' basketball teams all advanced to the 2nd round of the S.C. High School League playoffs on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, top seed and Region 5-5A champion Lexington was …

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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS - Irmo, River Bluff and Airport girls win playoff openers

Top-seed Lexington stunned by James Island

Posted

Irmo, River Bluff and Airport girls' basketball teams all advanced to the 2nd round of the S.C. High School League playoffs on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, top seed and Region 5-5A champion Lexington was stunned at home by James Island. 
Playoff action continues Wednesday with 2-time defending Class 2A boys' basketball champion Gray Collegiate in action at Allen University. Irmo, River Bluff, Dutch Fork and Brookland-Cayce boys will also open at home. 


Irmo 40, Woodmont 26
A stifling defensive effort in the 2nd half helped 2nd ranked Irmo win its 12th straight game Tuesday at the Temple of Doom. 
Ehrial Wagstaff led the Lady Yellow Jackets (22-3) with 13 points and Maliyiah Mason had 11. After jumping out to a 16-10 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, Irmo held the Lady Wildcats to 16 total points the rest of the way. 
Trinity Nesbitt and Justice McCullough each had 7 points for Woodmont (18-9).
Irmo head coach Monica Williams picked up her 407th career win. She can move past former Hartsville head coach Pat Hewitt on the S.C. High School League all-time career wins list with a home win Friday against Rock Hill. The Lady Bearcats edged Spartanburg 56-54.


River Bluff 61, Stall 59
Add another historic milestone achieved by the 2019-20 Lady Gators. 
Trailing the Lady Warriors (12-13) as many as 8 points in the 1st half, River Bluff rallied in the 2nd half to claim its school-record 16th win of the season. More important, it was the program's 1st ever playoff victory and 1st at home.
The Lady Gators opened the 2nd half with a 11-4 run to take a 39-33 lead. After the Lady Warriors got within a point, Japonica Wilson and Samira Khalil combined for 6 straight points to extend the lead to 45-38.
The Region 5-5A Player of the Year and All-Region selection each finished with 17 points. 
A 4-0 run to close the 3rd quarter brought Stall to within 45-42. The Lady Warriors tied the game twice in the 4th quarter before Khalil's 3-pointer with 1:54 left gave the Lady Gators the lead for good.
After a steal and layup by Wilson with 1:32 left, Janae Whaley hit a 3-pointer to bring Stall to within 58-56 with 26 seconds left. She finished with 13 points. 
Khalil was fouled with 17.4 seconds left. She made the first attempt, then her miss was put back by Reagan Rozier to make it 61-56 with 11.2 seconds left. She finished with 11 points.
Following the timeout, Stall's Shanece Mitchell was fouled and converted 2 free throws. With 4.2 seconds left, River Bluff looked to run out the clock. However, the Lady Gators were assessed a technical for having 6 players on the court.
Talasha Walker made 1-2 free throws. With 1.2 seconds left, Stall's final opportunity to tie or win was an errant shot off the backboard by Jadein Haynes. She and Walker finished with 16 points each. 
River Bluff (16-9) travels Friday to Carolina Forest, a 51-39 winner over Cane Bay. 


James Island 51, Lexington 45
A year ago, the Lady Wildcats defeated James Island in the 3rd round to advance to the Lower State finals for the 1st time in 40 years.
On Tuesday, the at-large Lady Trojans got their revenge in ending Lexington's season on their homecourt and snapping their 9-game winning streak.
James Island led 29-22 at halftime lead by Augusta Dixon's team-high 19 points and Emily Runey with 12. 
Lexington outscored the Lady Trojans 9-5 in the 3rd quarter to cut the deficit to 34-31. Sophomore Alexis Sexton nearly singlehandedly kept the Lady Wildcats in the contest with 6 3-pointers and a game-high 26 points. 
Despite her efforts, James Island (13-12) kept Lexington at bay in the final quarter. Nabrayja Washington contributed 6 of her 10 points in the final stanza as the Lady Trojans outscored the Lady Wildcats 17-14 to end the game. 
Lexington ends the season with a 15-10 mark and 3rd Region 5-5A title in 5 years.

 
Airport 50, Beaufort 27
Caleigh Corbitt had 14 points, Jayla Jamison finished with 12 and Amea Ziegler added 11 to lead the Lady Eagles.
It's the second straight 18-win season for Airport (18-7), who next travel to Crestwood Friday for a 2nd round Class 4A playoff contest. 


Summerville 57, White Knoll 36
Jasmine Jenkins scored 14 points in the 1st half as the Lady Timberwolves were tied at 17-17 with the Lady Green Wave.
An 11-4 run gave Summerville (22-6) at 28-21 halftime advantage. The Lady Green Wave proceeded to outscore White Knoll 15-1 in the 3rd quarter and pushed their lead to as many as 25 points.
White Knoll ends the season with a 13-11 record. 


Blacksburg 56, Batesburg-Leesville 38
Mikala Logan had 19 points, Tyty Tate finished with 15 and Essence Caviness scored 10 as the Lady Wildcats picked up the road Class 2A playoff win.
A 13-2 3rd quarter enabled Blacksburg (14-11) to pull away in the 2nd half. 
Batesburg-Leesville finished with a 7-12 record. 


(BOYS)
Wade Hampton 68, Gilbert 49 
Despite receiving a home playoff game due to rules violations by the Red Devils, the Indians (3-18) had their season come to an end.
Ridgeland-Hardeeville 88, Swansea 44


WEDNESDAY'S HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
CLASS 5A
J.L. Mann at Irmo 
West Ashley at River Bluff 
Lexington at Dutch Fork
White Knoll at Fort Dorchester

CLASS 4A
Darlington at Brookland-Cayce 
Airport at Colleton County

CLASS 2A
Brashier Middle College at Gray Collegiate 
 

Irmo, Williams, river bluff, basketball

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