Victoria Morris of South Pointe basketball is The Herald’s Athlete of the Week
Victoria Morris of the South Pointe girls’ basketball team is The Herald’s high school Athlete of the Week.
The 5-foot-9 sophomore posted a double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in a 46-43 loss in the Ladies Trojan Holiday Classic at Northwestern on Dec. 28. Morris also had 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals in a 61-46 win over Unicoi County (Tenn.) on Dec. 29.
South Pointe next travels to Northwestern on Saturday.
There were 74,809 votes cast in this week’s poll. Morris earned 51% of the vote. Nathan Brown of York finished with 34% of the vote, and JaNiya Cunningham of Northwestern finished with 11% of the vote.
Meet all the finalists and see the poll’s full results below.
All stats and records below are up-to-date through Monday, Jan. 3.
Meet the finalists
Nathan Brown, York wrestling. The junior went a perfect 5-0 at 220 pounds at the Chester Duals on Dec. 30. Brown is 15-2 overall this season.
JaNiya Cunningham, Northwestern girls’ basketball. The Trojan seventh grader posted a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 64-46 loss to Hopewell in the Ladies Trojan Holiday Classic on Dec. 29. She also had 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals in a 62-19 win in same event on the same day.
Makailah Davis, Catawba Ridge girls’ basketball. The 5-foot-4 freshman scored 15 points and had six rebounds, six assists and three steals in the final game of the Copperheads Classic on Dec. 30. Davis had a great tournament beyond the finale, too — including one game where she had eight points and six rebounds in a 56-22 victory over North Gaston on Dec. 29. Catawba Ridge (12-1) has won 11 straight games.
Zyan Hager, Catawba Ridge boys’ basketball. The 6-foot sophomore played really well in a holiday tournament (Copperheads Classic) that his school hosted this past week: Hager had 15 points and five steals in a 68-30 win over Buford on Dec. 28. The next night, he scored 12 points and had four assists in a 49-46 victory over Rock Hill. And then in the championship game? The sophomore had a season-high 16 points in a 62-55 loss to Charlotte Country Day on Dec. 30. Hager is averaging 8.9 points and 2.1 steals per game for Catawba Ridge (14-2) this season.
Marcus Kell, Legion Collegiate boys’ basketball. The 6-foot-8 senior averaged 27 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for Legion Collegiate in three tournament games in the Beach Ball Classic this week in Pensacola, Florida. Kell had 22 points and six rebounds in a 72-57 win over Ravenswood (Tenn.) in the tournament opener on Dec. 27. He then posted 30 points and 17 rebounds in a 56-44 victory over Rogers Heritage (Ariz.) on Dec. 28 before pouring in 29 points and nine boards in a 65-51 loss to Walnut Hills (Ohio) on Dec. 29. Kell was named to the all-tournament team and is averaging 24.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for Legion Collegiate (9-6) this season.
Dylan Layton, Indian Land wrestling. The Warrior won the 138-pound title at the Holy Angels Tournament in Charlotte on Dec. 29-30. Layton was a perfect 7-0 in the two-day event.
Victoria Morris, South Pointe girls’ basketball.
Kyle Neibch, Fort Mill boys’ basketball. The 6-foot-2 senior led his team to three straight wins in the Bennie Bennett Memorial Tournament at Clover this past week — and he played well while doing it. Neibch had 16 points in a 45-35 win over Marvin Ridge on Dec. 28. The next day, he had 21 points in a 70-36 victory over Battery Creek. And then the senior finished off the tournament with 21 points in a 77-55 win over Newberry on Dec. 30. Neibch is averaging 16.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for Fort Mill (11-4) this season.
Vote and see running results here
How to nominate
Athlete of the Week awards highlight high school players with outstanding performances. The goal is to recognize all athletes — both the accomplished and the underrated/underappreciated players. If you want to suggest someone to be included in the ballot in future weeks, send an email to Jay Edwards at edwardswork23@gmail.com. Please include the athlete’s name, school, class and applicable game performance statistics. Coaches must be willing to verify information. The Herald reserves the right to remove a name from the poll at its discretion.
This story was originally published January 3, 2022 at 3:32 PM.
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