South Pointe’s Ja’Niya Cunningham is Herald athlete of week
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- The Herald lists high-school athlete nominees and runs a public poll closing Sunday noon.
- Nominees span football, swimming and cross-country, backed by game and meet stats.
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South Pointe’s Ja’Niya Cunningham is The Herald’s high school athelte of the week.
The 6-foot junior forward on the girls’ basketball team scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, had two assists, one steal and one block in a 65-51 win over Fairland (OH) in the Beach Ball Classic United Bank Championship Division in Myrtle Beach on Dec. 22.
Cunningham also scored 22 points, had 12 rebounds and two steals in an 87-52 win over First Baptist School (SC) in the same tournament on Dec. 20.
Cunningham opened the Beach Ball Classic tournament with nine points, 12 rebounds and a steal in a 64-44 loss to Hebron Christian (GA) on Dec. 19.
Last week’s finalists
Ni’Yonna Asbelle, Andrew Jackson girls’ basketball: The 5-foot-11 senior forward scored 15 points, had three rebounds, two assists and one steal in a 68-18 win over Harding in the opening round of the Comporium Christmas Classic at Andrew Jackson on Dec. 26.
The next night, Asbelle scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, had three assists, three steals and three blocks in a 53-25 win over Julius Chambers in the tournament championship game.
Asbelle is averaging 24.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 3.3 assists per game for Andrew Jackson (5-5) this season.
Chloe Hudson, Rock Hill girls’ basketball: The 5-9 senior scored 17 points, had five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in a 49-32 win over Julius Chambers in the opening round of the Y.C. Winborn Classic at Rock Hill on Dec. 18.
The next day, Hudson scored 24 points, had six rebounds, three assists and eight steals in a 69-38 win over Dreher in the same tournament.
Rock Hill (9-4) also lost to West Charlotte 62-49 in the final game of the Y.C. Winborn Classic on Dec. 20.
Hudson is averaging 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals per game for Rock Hill this season.
Kerrington Ratliff, Northwestern girls’ wrestling: The Trojans’ junior won the 114-pound title at the E.B. Memorial Tournament at Mallard Creek High on Dec. 19-20.
Ratliff, who is 10-0 overall this season, is also ranked No. 3 in the state at 114 pounds.
A.J. Washington, Fort Mill basketball: The 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard scored 19 points, had four rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in an 80-61 win over Lower Richland in the opening round of the Lexington Roundball Classic on Dec. 26.
The next day, Washington scored 11 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had two assists, three steals and a block in a 61-52 win over Mauldin in the tournament semifinals.
Washington finished off the Lexington Roundball Classic with 23 points, nine rebounds, one assist and two blocks in an 82-79 overtime victory over Byrnes to claim the tournament championship on Dec. 28.
Washington is averaging 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game for Fort Mill (12-3) this season.
James White, Northwestern wrestling: The Trojans’ junior won the 144-pound title at the E.B. Memorial Tournament at Mallard Creek High on Dec. 19-20.
White is 17-2 overall this season.
Note: Information published today includes statistics through December 27.
This story was originally published December 31, 2025 at 1:50 PM with the headline "South Pointe’s Ja’Niya Cunningham is Herald athlete of week."