Turnovers, loss of key player trips up Fort Mill in road loss

Coming off one of their bigger wins of the season against York, the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets girls’ basketball team had a letdown against Forestview, falling 57-40.

Still playing without injured sophomore Amiah Lindsay, Fort Mill struggled getting rebounds without any post presence. It seemed as if they were playing four or five guards at a time in some cases, simply due to a lack of height.

While Lindsay’s absence is hurting Fort Mill, what is not known for sure is when she will be back from a shoulder injury. Head coach Brett Childers was hoping she could have returned by now. Now as Fort Mill heads into the Christmas break, the question is, will she play anymore during the 2016 calendar year.

Fort Mill tried to hang with Forestview from the opening tip, but turnovers started to plague the Jackets’ ball handling as they started the game off with five straight giveaways and the Jaguars went up 9-0 to open the game.

The Jackets fought back, hitting two 3-pointers from sophomore Annika Ford to close the gap. Senior Kimber Haley finally tied the game at 11-11, but Forestview scored the final four points of the quarter.

In the second quarter, Fort Mill fought back and tied the game at 15-15, but the Jaguars closed the half out on a 12-0 run.

The third quarter saw senior Meredith Christopher come alive to revive the Fort Mill offense as she scored 12 of the Jackets’ 15 points in the quarter.While Fort Mill pulled within 11 at one point, it was difficult for the Jackets to cut too much into the Jaguars’ lead from there.

Turning point

Forestview opened the second half much like it closed the first half on a 5-0 run. That gave the Jaguars a 17-point cushion to play the rest of the game with as they never really let the foot off the gas.

Critical

Turnovers from the start destroyed Fort Mill’s chances for a win. While the turnovers lessened as the game wore on, starting the game with five straight turnovers and allowing Forestview to go up early set things in motion for the home squad to get the victory.

Star contributions

Christopher, who came off a career night against York with 25 points in the win, led Fort Mill with 18 points. Christopher has stepped up in Lindsay’s absence shouldering the majority of the Jackets’ scoring responsibilities during the stretch.

On deck

Up next for the Jackets is a trip to Chester this week before taking some time off. They will accompany the boys’ team to Chesnee High School the week after Christmas to play in the Lowe’s Roundball Classic for the second straight year.

Box score

Forestview 57, Fort Mill 40

Fort Mill 11;4;15;10;-;40

Forestview 15;12;19;11;-;57

SCORING SUMMARY

Fort Mill – Meredith Christopher 18, Kimber Haley 6, Annika Ford 6, Wallace Cortazar 4, Jackie White, Felesha Geiger 2, Madison Payne 2. Forestview – Shaiquanda James 15, O’Merri Holland 10, Yasmine Love 8, Destiny Floyd 7, Kenzley Dunlap 6, Sydney Bowen 4, Brianna Cherry 4, Katlin Kendrick 3.

3-pointers: Fort Mill 5 (Christopher 3, Ford 2), Forestview 3 (Holland 2, Kendrick).

Team fouls: Fort Mill 11, Forestview 15

RECORDS Fort Mill 6-4, Forestview 6-1

This story was originally published December 19, 2016 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Turnovers, loss of key player trips up Fort Mill in road loss."