Young Fort Mill Yellow Jackets feel they have lot to prove

Head girls’ basketball coach Brett Childers said this year will be one where his Fort Mill High team has something to prove.

Picked to finish fourth out of a five team Region IV, the Jackets lost big when senior Meredith Christopher graduated and Amiah Lindsay transferred over to crosstown rival Nation Ford. Now they have to regroup and try to find a way to sure up their offensive production.

“We have got a lot to prove this year,” Childers said. “However, we got a lot of potential to fill gaps.”

One player Childers and Fort Mill will be looking to is senior Khamara Patterson, who transferred in from Rocky River High in North Carolina. At 6-1, Patterson will be the tallest player on the roster and will be taking the place of Lindsay in the four and five spots.

“She does a little bit of everything,” Childers said. “She is a Jack of all trades. She will give us some rebounding we lacked last year when Amiah got hurt.”

Another player looking to lead Fort Mill is sophomore Unique Burch, who was selected to the preseason All-Region team.

Burch is a guard who averaged around six points and five rebounds a game last year.

“Unique has had a really good fall,” Childers said.

The Jackets are also bringing back juniors Annika Ford, Wallace Cortazar and sophomores Isabella Giarrizzi and Felesha Geiger, as part of this year’s team. Fort Mill has two freshmen on the varsity squad — Regan Hodge and Abigail Snearly —who Childers speaks highly of. Snearly is already 5-feet, 11-inches tall and at her age, could very well get taller.

Fort Mill opens the season locally before most teams as they host the Yellow Jackets Preseason Tournament Nov. 20-22. The Jackets will open the tournament against Buford Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Once again this year, the Jackets will compete in the Lowes Classic over the Christmas break at Chesnee High and will open region when classes resume. One new experience they will have this season is hosting an Australian travel team Jan. 9.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 8:41 PM with the headline "Young Fort Mill Yellow Jackets feel they have lot to prove."