HS roundup: how South Pointe’s No. 2-ranked girls got their biggest win of the season

A late 9-1 run enabled South Pointe to flip the tables on Westwood late in Tuesday night’s meeting of top-3-ranked girls’ basketball teams. Then the Stallions knocked down enough free throws down the stretch for a 65-61 win that strengthens their Region 3-4A title chances.

One of the biggest plays came when junior Randi Neal ran down a loose ball, then attacked the basket. She scored, was fouled, and hit the free throw for a 63-57 lead late.

“We had to pick it up,” Neal said. “The game shouldn’t have been that close. This was our game.”

Neal led South Pointe (16-3, 4-0 Region 3-4A) with 17 points, while Scarlett Gilmore added 16. Sierra McCullough and Jamia Blake both had 10.

“We showed a little bit of maturity,” said South Pointe coach Stephanie Butler. “Those kids made plays, made it happen.”

South Pointe led 34-31 at the end of an aggressive and foul-filled first half. The host Stallions got most of their points from either the foul line (14 in the first half), steals, or offensive rebounds.

One stretch of active defense and offensive backboard dominance helped South Pointe to its biggest lead. McCullough put back her own miss, before Gilmore knocked down a jumper after a missed Stallions free throw. Then consecutive layups by Randi Neal and Gilmore pushed South Pointe’s lead to 33-22 and forced a Westwood timeout.

The Redhawks (14-5, 3-1) ended the half better, though. Malayziah Etheredge finished the second quarter with seven straight points to slice into the hosts lead before the break. And that momentum carried into the second half when the visitors seemed to take control. Westwood guard Unique Drake, signed with St. John’s, scored seven points in a quick burst and the Redhawks took a 55-51 lead with a couple of minutes left. Westwood took advantage of McCullough being parked on the bench with four fouls.

“That really changed how we were able to play,” said Butler. “But then Randi Neal stepped in and got some huge rebounds for us, made a great play in the end with the and-one down the stretch. So we’ve got other kids and they’re getting more and more confident.”

McCullough returned to the action late, and duped her defender with a nifty head fake and a layup, before Gilmore finished a Westwood turnover with a layup to make it 56-55 South Pointe. The Stallions never trailed again.

“I’m just really proud of them because they toughed it out,” said Butler. “We made the last run of the game.”

Nation Ford 73, Northwestern 38

The Nation Ford Falcons thrashed the Northwestern Trojans 73-38 in a Region 4-5A game at Nation Ford Tuesday night.

The Falcons are 14-5 overall and 3-0 in the region. Northwestern dropped to 4-11 in all games and 0-2 in region action.

Richland Northeast 31, Lancaster 23

Richland Northeast topppled the Lancaster Bruins 31-23 in a Region 3-4A contest at RNE Tuesday night. The Bruins are 7-7 overall and 1-3 in region play.

Fairfield Central 61, Chester 39

Fairfield Central topped the Cyclones 61-39 in a Region 4-3A game at Chester Tuesday night.

The Griffins took a 38-13 lead at halftime and cruised from there for the victory. Chester is 1-17 in all games and 0-4 in the region.

Chesterfield 43, Lewisville 37

Chesterfield edged the Lewisville Lions 43-37 in a Region 4-2A game at Richburg Tuesday night.

The Lions led 10-9 after one period, but Chesterfield used a solid second period to take a 21-14 lead at half. Chesterfield pulled away in the third period and took a 39-25 lead heading to the final eight minutes. Lewisville rallied in the final quarter, but came up short.

Amber Bass led the Lions with 20 points. Katlyn Fossett added seven more for Lewisville.

Lewisville is 5-6 overall and 1-5 in the region.

Clover 56, Fort Mill 25

The Clover Blue Eagles thumped the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets 56-25 in a Region 4-5A game at Clover Monday night.

Sophomore guard Aylesha Wade led the Blue Eagles with 25 points and crossed the 1,000 point mark for her career. Tiona Wells added a dozen points to the winning effort. Regan Hodge led the Yellow Jackets with eight points.

Clover is 14-6 overall and 2-1 in the region. Fort Mill is 13-6 in all games and 0-2 in the region.

Arborbrook Christian 63, York Prep 48

Arborbrook Christian defeated the York Prep Patriots 63-48 in a non-region game at York Prep Monday night. York Prep is 6-7 overall on the year.

VOLLEYBALL

Fischer named SC Gatorade player of the year

The Gatorade Company announced Sophie Fischer of Nation Ford High School as its 2018-19 Gatorade South Carolina Volleyball Player of the Year. Fischer is the first Gatorade South Carolina Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Nation Ford High School. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Fischer as South Carolina’s best high school volleyball player.

Fischer is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year award to be announced later this month.

The 6-foot-5 junior outside hitter and middle blocker led the Falcons to a 46-7-1 record and the 5A state championship this past season. Fischer recorded 618 kills, 345 digs, 65 aces and 51 blocks. The Charlotte Observer and Region 4-5A Player of the Year, she was named a PrepVolleyball.com All-American. Fischer has donated her time to youth volleyball programs and has volunteered locally on behalf of Families Forward Charlotte, easing the burden of poverty on children and their families in Mecklenburg County.

“Fischer is a dominant force in the front row, both blocking and attacking, and she has an aggressive jump float serve too,” said Megan Perry, head coach at Northwestern High School. “She’s quite the talented volleyball player, and also a sweet, hard-working kid and a positive leader with her teammates.”

Fischer has maintained a 3.45 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior year of high school this fall.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Nation Ford 79, Northwestern 74

The Nation Ford Falcons edged the Northwestern Trojans 79-74 in a Region 4-5A game at Nation Ford Tuesday night.

The Falcons led 21-20 after one period and 40-37 at halftime. When the third quarter was over Nation Ford was in front 68-62, and they hung on down the stretch for the big region win.

Zeb Graham led Nation Ford with 28 points. He scored 15 of his points in the third period. Malik Bryant added 18 points to the winning effort and Shaman Alston chipped in 15 for the Falcons. Zay Martin paced the Trojans with 20 points. Mason Grigg and Zuric Harvey joined him in double digits with 19 and 10 points respectively.

Nation Ford is 16-3 overall and 3-0 in region action. Northwestern is 14-3 in all games and 2-1 in the region.

Westwood 63, South Pointe 51

Westwood took a 14-7 lead after one quarter and went on to defeat the South Pointe Stallions 63-51 in a Region 3-4A matchup at South Pointe Tuesday night.

The Stallions are 4-12 overall and 2-2 in region action

Chester 69, Fairfield Central 55

The Chester Cyclones pulled away in the second half and defeated Fairfield Central 69-55 in a Region 4-3A contest at Chester Tuesday night.

The Cyclones led 34-33 at intermission, but outscored Fairfield Central 35-22 in the second half to secure the victory. Chester is 6-9 overall and 3-1 in region action.

Fort Mill 76, Clover 56

The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets topped the Clover Blue Eagles 76-56 in a Region 4-5A contest at Clover Monday night.

The Yellow Jackets led 18-12 after one period and 34-30 at intermission. They pulled away in the second half to pick up the region road win.

Jacobi Wright led the way for Fort Mill with 37 points. He got 21 of his points in the third period when the Yellow Jackets began to pull away. Will Ross and Keyan Mims added 11 each to the winning effort. Heze Massey paced the Blue Eagles with 21 points. Dawson Malcom and Markus Nastase joined him in double digits with 12 and 10 points respectively.

Fort Mill improved to 16-2 overall and 2-0 in the region. Clover dropped to 11-7 in all games and 0-3 in region action.

WRESTLING

Chester wins twice

The Chester Cyclones won a pair of non-region matches in a tri-match at Buford Tuesday night.

The Cyclones defeated Chesterfield 59-22 in the first match and edged Buford 48-34 in the final match.

Northwestern wins two matches

The Northwestern Trojans won a pair of non-region matches in a tri-match at Northwestern Tuesday night.

The Trojans topped Union County 49-27 in the first match and routed Heathwood Hall 57-21 in the second match.

Rock Hill 38, South Pointe 37

The Rock Hill Bearcats edged the South Pointe Stallions 38-37 in a non-region match at South Pointe Monday night.

The Stallions used three pins to take an 18-0 lead, but the ‘Cats got the next 17 points to pull to within one point. The match went back and forth the rest of the night. When Rock Hill’s Devon Rice recorded a pin in the heavyweight class, the ‘Cats led 38-31 with just one match remaining and the hard-fought win was sealed.

Rock Hill 51, Nation Ford 12

The Rock Hill Bearcats dominated the Nation Ford Falcons 51-12 in a Region 4-5A match at South Pointe Monday night.

The Bearcats led 18-12 after seven weight classes were complete. They took charge from there and scored the next 33 points to close out the one-sided match.