Clover girls roll past a Fort Mill team missing its star
The announcer invited everyone to stand and for men to remove their caps for the national anthem before Tuesday night’s Clover-Fort Mill girls’ basketball game. Only the star of the moment, a digital recording of The Star Spangled Banner on a computer hooked up to an auxiliary cord, wouldn’t play.
After about 30 seconds of awkward silence, a spectator in the crowd began to sing the song and others joined in.
Fort Mill’s improvisation without its star – sophomore post player Amiah Lindsay – hasn’t gone as well. Clover definitely added to the Yellow Jackets’ difficulties stemming from Lindsay’s serious knee injury, the Blue Eagles pulling away after halftime for a 44-29 Region 4-5A win.
“We’ve got an identity without her. We figured out a couple of ways to play without her,” said Fort Mill coach Brett Childers. “It’s unfortunate for everyone, but especially her because she was gonna have a really good year and was working hard.”
Turning point
Clover led 18-9 at halftime and grew its lead to 14 in the third quarter. Eighth-grader Aylesha Wade was instrumental in the Blue Eagles’ expansion of their lead, scoring Clover’s final seven points of the period. She hit a deep 2 and rainbowed in a 3, before turning a steal into a layup for a 31-14 lead late in the third quarter.
“She’s a very special player,” said Clover coach Sherer Hopkins. “We still have some things to work on but she has a bright future for sure.”
Critical
Renee Carter and Lily Wallace took advantage of Lindsay’s absence, scoring several times on putbacks near the basket, and the Blue Eagles also showed more on-court cool than their counterparts, especially in the third and fourth quarters when Fort Mill pulled within 10 several different occasions.
“Offensively, we just felt rushed the whole night,” Childers said. “We still had chances right there at the beginning of the fourth quarter but we couldn’t get that next shot to go down to force the issue.”
Star contributors
Wade gave Clover a big lift off the bench, scoring 15 points and often making the right pass or running down an opponent from the defensive backside. Carter and Wallace offered Clover some balance in the paint, contributing 12 and 11 points, respectively. Both thrived in the absence of Lindsay, who is one of the best shot-blockers in the area, if not the state.
On deck
Clover plays at Region 4-5A power and No. 4-ranked Rock Hill on Friday. Fort Mill heads to Northwestern.
Box score
Clover 44, Fort Mill 29
Individual scoring
CHS: Taylor Morneault 3; Aylesha Wade 15; Tiona Walls 3; Lily Wallace 11; Renee Carter 12. FMHS: Unique Burch 5; Reagan Kelke 5; Kimber Haley 9; Meredith Christopher 6; Annika Ford 2; Wallace Cortazar 2.
3-point shooting: CHS 3 (Wade 2, Wallace). FMHS 2 (Haley, Kelke).
Team fouls: CHS 11. FMHS 12.
Foul-shooting: CHS 9-17. FMHS 7-15.
Fouled out: N/A.
Records: Clover 9-6, 2-1 Region 4-5A; Fort Mill 10-8, 0-2.
This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 8:59 PM with the headline "Clover girls roll past a Fort Mill team missing its star."