High school basketball rewind: South Pointe girls finish 26-0; Fort Mill boys roll on
South Pointe girls’ basketball remains undefeated before the state playoffs.
A 78-22 victory over Richland Northeast kept the season-long win streak intact for the Stallions, who dominated their regular-season finale Thursday evening in Rock Hill.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” South Pointe head coach Stephanie Butler-Graham said. “We’re shooting the ball a lot better. If we could just keep that consistency, that makes it easier for us in that JaNyia (Cunningham)’s gonna get double-teamed, triple-teamed, that’s been the game plan for a lot of teams the whole year.
“But for the other kids to just stay and do what they’ve been capable of doing …”
“Some of them haven’t demonstrated it earlier in the season, but they’re getting it,” Butler-Graham added. “They’re doing it now. And what better time than now?”
The Stallions (26-0) were steps ahead of their opponent during the early stages of Thursday’s drubbing. They began the night on a 22-2 scoring run and put the game out of reach by the end of the first quarter.
Freshman point guard Kaleigh Lucas, who was honored Thursday in an on-court postgame ceremony after reaching the 1,000-point milestone in the Stallions’ win Jan. 25 at A.C. Flora, led all scorers with 21 points.
Senior guard Serenity Woods posted a 20-point performance, including six 3-pointers, while Cunningham dropped 15 points.
South Pointe had previously earned a 64-18 victory on Jan. 29 against the Cavaliers (10-15) on the road in Columbia.
In other games Thursday night:
BOYS
Wayne Country Day 69, Westminster Catawba 67: Westminster Catawba’s season came to an end with a second-round road loss in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association playoffs. The Rock Hill team finished with a 15-16 record.
Lancaster 77, York 56: The host Bruins (22-1, 12-0 Region 3 4A) finished the regular season with a perfect record in region play. They built a 24-point lead after three quarters and coasted. Sophomore Deno Gilmore scored 16 points for York, which played much of the game with three sophomores and a junior.
GIRLS
Westminster Catawba 43, Fayetteville Academy 40: Sixth-seeded Westminster Catawba advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCISAA 2A playoffs with the narrow victory. Fayetteville Academy had rallied in the second quarter and carried a 30-27 lead into the final period. Westminster Catawba will play its quarterfinal game Saturday in Fayetteville against third-seeded Trinity Christian.
Lancaster 53, York 20: The Bruins were big winners in the third Region 3 4A contest, leading 13-0 after one quarter and outscoring the Cougars 22-3 in the final period. A’merianna Ingram scored 14 of York’s points.
Friday’s games
BOYS
Fort Mill 68, Nation Ford 41: The Yellow Jackets (24-2, 12-0) already had clinched the Region 3 5A championship, but they left no doubt in this game. Fort Mill raced to a 30-13 halftime lead against the Falcons (11-15, 3-9) and finished with an undefeated region record.
Clover 61, Catawba Ridge 43: This Region 3 5A game was tied 39-all after three quarters, but the host Blue Eagles (17-9, 7-5) surged with a 22-4 advantage in the fourth quarter. The Copperheads finished 10-16, 3-9.
Indian Land 54, Northwestern 39: Mike Jones scored 19 points and Sequel Patterson added 13, as the Warriors (23-3, 10-2) pulled away in the second half for a Region 3 5A victory. Northwestern finished 6-16, 4-8.
Great Falls 64, Lewisville 56: Jalen Culp scored all 11 first-quarter points for Lewisville, but Great Falls gradually built leads of 35-23 at halftime and 46-25 in the third quarter. Then Lewisville went on a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter and narrowed the gap to 61-56, before the Red Devils pulled away and wrapped up their Region 2 1A championship.
GIRLS
Clover 61, Catawba Ridge 16: The Blue Eagles raced to a big early lead and completed a 12-0 season in Region 3 5A. They finished two games ahead of Rock Hill and three in front of Fort Mill, which downed Nation Ford 45-35 Friday night.
Scores
THURSDAY
Region 3 4A
Girls: South Pointe 78, Richland Northeast 22
Boys: Richland Northeast at South Pointe
Girls: Lancaster 53, York 20
Boys: Lancaster 77, York 56
Region 3 2A
Girls: Clinton 39, Fairfield Central 18
Boys: Fairfield Central 47, Clinton 44
Region 2 1A
Governor’s School at Lamar
Nonconference
Cuthbertson at Buford
FRIDAY
Region 3 5A
Boys: Clover 61, Catawba Ridge 43
Girls: Clover 61, Catawba Ridge 16
Boys: Indian Land 54, Northwestern 39
Girls: Northwestern 47, Indian Land 37
Boys: Fort Mill 68, Nation Ford 41
Girls: Fort Mill 45, Nation Ford 35
Region 3 4A
Boys: A.C. Flora 64, Camden 63
Girls: Camden 57, A.C. Flora 40
Region 4 2A
Girls: Cheraw 49, Chesterfield 41
Region 2 1A
Boys: Lee Central 74, Lamar 56
Boys: Great Falls 64, Lewisville 56
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.