By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Gaffney - If anyone needed assurances that Gaffney head girls’ basketball coach Mark Huff could coach well when Plan A got tossed out the window due to injuries; be assured that his 21 wins and a region championship earned by Gaffney during the 2023-24 season will long be cherished and remembered by all who follow the Lady Indians program.
Near the end of Gaffney’s huge win over Dorman on January, 19, leading scorer Shiriah Harris broke her foot and was lost to the season. Her 18.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, two steals and two assists a game were gone with her season ending injury. (Coach Huff quickly went into Plan B mode for sure).
“We moved sophomore guard Korbyn Lydia from wing to the post and then we took our sixth person off the bench, junior Izabella Sarratt and moved her to a wing after the injury to Harris,” said Coach Huff. “In all my years coaching I had never lost a leading scorer to a season ending injury that late in the season.
“Everyone responded well to the challenges we had after the injury and I am very proud that this team was able to beat Byrnes at the end of the regular season (53-33) that clinched the region title for us,” said Coach Huff. “Our man-to-man defense just kept getting better as the season went along. We actually held Byrnes scoreless in the second quarter of that game.”
Earlier in the season, at Byrnes on January, 23, (four days after Harris’ injury) the Lady Rebels had defeated Gaffney 62-55 at home. The 20-point win for Gaffney in the final game of the regular season against Byrnes was very special indeed for the program.
After the lost to Byrnes earlier in the season, Gaffney reeled off seven straight wins with the adjusted line-up. They defeated Hillcrest (55-16), Spartanburg (53-45), Boiling Springs (38-23), Dorman (48-47), Byrnes (55-33), Nation Ford (51-26) and Spring Valley (70-63).
The wins over Nation Ford and Spring Valley were playoff wins. “We lost to JL Mann twice during the season but the 57-40 lost put us out of the playoffs,” said Coach Huff. “You just never know how far we might have gone had Harris not been injured. I do know that I am very proud of how the team stepped up and played all season and after the injury.”
Numerous post-season honors came to several players. Freshman Tianah Hopper (5-10) earned Region Player of the Year honors after she finished with 16.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.6 steals a game. Harris earned all-region honors. Freshman guard Lauren Mathis earned all- region honors after averaging 8.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals a game. Hopper and Harris were also named to the SCBCA AAAAA All-state team. They will both be named to the HSSR all-state team also when it is released on March, 15.
Junior Foreign Exchange Student Elena Bedana will be returning to Italy in June. Bedana averaged 4.9 points and 3.7 assists per game. The only senior on the team was 6-1 post reserve Diamynd Buckson who averaged 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds a game.
“We will return four starters to the team next season and if we can stay healthy, we should have an opportunity to make a deeper playoff run,” said Coach Huff. “We were really young this season with two freshmen, two sophomores, and one junior starting.”
Coach Huff plans to take the team to a team showcase event in Rock Hill June 14-16 in which college colleges are allowed to observe. “Over the summer you are allowed to compete in 10 different games over 10 days with your team,” said Coach Huff. “We went to a one- day camp at South Caroliina last summer and there are several one-day camps we attend put on by various high schools in the area that we attend.”
Other members of the team expected to return include junior forward Kymoroa Pearson and junior guard Kaylin Houze.
Coach Huff is closing gout his third season as the Gaffney girl’s coach and he has a 49-24 record in those three seasons. On the boy’s side of his coaching resume he has a career record of 536-208. He just closed out his 38th year as a head high school basketball coach.
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