Rock Hill girls face familiar foe in upper state semifinals

Rock Hill has a history with its upcoming opponent, J.L. Mann, in the semifinal round of the 5A girls basketball state tournament.

The two schools met in 2022 in the third round of the state playoffs, a game that resulted in a 67-32 Bearcats win en route to Rock Hill’s first-ever girls basketball state championship.

Rock Hill’s preparation for the game hasn’t deviated too much from the norm.

“It’s kind of been our usual game-day preparation,” Rock Hill head coach Kenny Orr said. “Nothing too drastically has changed. We’re just going through our regular routine. ... We’re kind of treating it like it’s a regular game. It’s just a bigger game, that’s all it is.”

The Bearcats have a few players still on the roster from the championship team two years ago: seniors De’Ashaj Crawford, Layla Jones and Sarah Anderson-Wildy; junior Imani Sterling and sophomore Chloe Hudson.

Orr said that having that experience on its roster is helping some of his players manage the moment.

“Some of them haven’t been on this stage before,” Orr said. “Luckily, we have kids who have. We have five kids who have been on this stage, so we’re kind of letting them lead by experience. The other ones, they’ve been asking questions to the kids. They don’t understand going into the game, how many people can go, and the whole ambiance that comes with it. Luckily, De’Ashaj and them have been guiding them and telling us some things and keeping them in check to a certain degree.”

The game will tip off at 2 p.m. at The Florence Center in Florence.

This story was originally published February 22, 2024 at 12:00 AM.