South Pointe girls pull away in second-half for first-round win over Eastside
South Pointe used a huge second half to pull away from Eastside en route to a a 65-38 home victory in the first round of the 4A state playoffs Tuesday night.
The Stallions and the Eagles were very close early, trading the lead several times as the first quarter ended with the game tied at 15.
South Pointe stepped it up defensively and held Eastside to just six points in the second quarter as the Stallions held a 30-21 halftime lead.
“About the tail end of the second quarter, we started to play a little bit better defensively,” South Pointe head coach Stephanie Butler-Graham said. “And maybe we were able to wear them down a little bit. They didn’t have a lot of numbers, but Eastside is a good team. They’re well-coached. They’re young as well. We knew that they were going to get some things, and I’m just disappointed we allowed them to do some things that we knew they could do.”
The second half fully belonged to South Pointe as it jumped out to an 8-2 run behind the Stallions’ full-court press, which began to force some Eastside mistakes.
And those mistakes were converted into South Pointe baskets as the Stallions extended their lead by outscoring Eastside 35-17 in the second half.
The all-state forward duo of senior Victoria “Starr” Morris and freshman Ja’Nyia Cunningham combined for 43 points in the game, while eighth-grader Kaleigh Lucas scored eight of her 11 points in the second half.
Butler-Graham said she was happy with the win, but there was a lot that kept her from being “super happy.”
She saw some angst and nervousness among her younger players being in the playoffs with such lofty expectations, but that should not come at the expense of their effort or ability to execute the game plan.
“I’m really disappointed in how I felt like we played tonight,” she said. “We did not play like we’re capable of. Our body language wasn’t really good. And I’m disappointed because I felt like yesterday in practice, we were ready for the playoffs, and I just didn’t see that tonight. We weren’t able to connect on some easy buckets, and we didn’t shoot well from the free-throw line. If we could put some of that together and play a little bit harder, maybe I might be super happy about the win.”
South Pointe (25-2) will be at home on Friday to face the winner of Greenwood and Aiken. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m.
Other first-round scores
5A Girls:
Rock Hill 64, T.L. Hanna 37
Mauldin 69, Fort Mill 31
J.L. Mann 61, Clover 58
Gaffney 50, Nation Ford 26
4A Girls:
Riverside 82, Indian Land 20
Greer 43, Lancaster 39
Wade Hampton 67, Catawba Ridge 44
2A Boys:
Andrew Jackson 87, Barnwell 28
York Prep 59, Ridgeland-Hardeeville 49
1A Girls:
Lewisville 39, Ware Shoals 14
McCormick 43, Great Falls 15
This story was originally published February 13, 2024 at 9:46 PM.