Fort Mill girls place 5th in Lowe’s Classic

The Fort Mill High girls’ basketball team beat Chapman 67-35 to finish fifth in the Lowe’s Roundball Classic at Chesnee High School.

Meredith Christopher led with 20 points and Kimber Haley added 12 points. Unique Burch scored 11 points in the win as well. Fort Mill is now 9-5 overall on the season.

A strong showing in the consolation bracket of the Lowe’s Roundball Classic had the Yellow Jackets in position to play for fifth.

Fort Mill beat Mid-Carolina 49-25 after falling in its first game of the tournament to RJ Reynolds of North Carolina 49-36. In the game against RJ Reynolds, Amiah Lindsay, playing in her first game back from a shoulder injury, hurt her right knee while attempting to score during the second quarter. She had scored four points and had three blocks up until that point.

The extent of the injury is not known, but it is feared it maybe her ACL. Lindsay was scheduled to meet with a doctor Thursday.

The Jackets are used to Lindsay being out as she missed nearly a month with her shoulder issue. Head coach Brett Childers said the team has missed Lindsay, but knew that had to play without her.

“We have grown a little over the last few weeks,” he said. “We can compete with anybody. We just have to improve on our limitations.”

In its game against Mid-Carolina, Fort Mill opened the game strong despite the early back and forth battle between the two teams. Both teams’ offenses started slow as they struggled to shoot the ball consistently. The Jackets went on a small 5-0 run midway through the first quarter, but Mid-Carolina put a run of their own together near the end of the quarter to pull within one of Fort Mill at 9-8.

Fort Mill carried a 16-point lead into the third quarter at 39-23, but Mid-Carolina matched the Jackets shot for shot and opened the period on a 5-0 run. The Jackets struggled some with turnovers themselves as some younger players got significant playing time in the blowout win. In the fourth quarter, Fort Mill again ran away with things as they outscored Mid-Carolina 10-2.

Turning point

Fort Mill put together a 10-0 run in the second quarter and was led by Meredith Christopher, who scored 10 of the Jackets’ 19 points in the quarter. Fort Mill outscored Mid-Carolina 19-4 in the quarter to take a 28-12 lead at the half.

Critical

The Jackets’ constant defensive pressure on Mid-Carolina resulted in nearly 30 turnovers for the team from Prosperity. In the second quarter alone, Mid-Carolina turned the ball over 11 times.

Star contributions

Christopher led with 22 points for Fort Mill and Wallace Cortazar added nine for the Jackets.

On deck

Fort Mill has its final two non-conference games against Lancaster and Forestview next week before opening Region IV play at home Jan 13 against Rock Hill.

Box score

Fort Mill 49, Mid Carolina 25

Fort Mill 9;19;11;10;-49

Mid-Carolina 8;4;11;2;-25

SCORING SUMMARY

Fort Mill – Meredith Christopher 22, Wallace Cortazar 9, Annika Ford 4, Isabella Giarrizzi 4, Unique Burch 2, Reagan Kelke 2, Molly Robinson 2, Felesha Geiger 2, Madison Payne 2.

Mid-Carolina – Gracen Hester 7, Alex Fulmer 5, Nia Hall 5, Katie Coker 4, Taylor Swygert 2, Mary Alford 2.

3-pointers: Fort Mill 2 (Christopher), Mid-Carolina 2 (Hester, Fulmer).

Team fouls: Fort Mill 9, Mid-Carolina 11.

RECORDS Fort Mill 8-5, Mid-Carolina 5-4.

This story was originally published December 30, 2016 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Fort Mill girls place 5th in Lowe’s Classic."