Orangeburg Prep girls have great season with disappointing ending

           Sumter – Jan Stoudenmire can only talk about what a tremendous season her Orangeburg Preparatory School girls basketball team had. It just didn’t end the way the Lady Indians had hoped it would.

          Orangeburg Prep won its first 26 games of the season, taking it to the semifinal round of the SCISA AAA state tournament at Sumter Civic Center. That’s where the amazing run came to an end though. The Lady Indians lost to John Paul II 46-41 to fall short of the state championship game for the second year in a row.

         “I don't know if we should have taken a loss earlier in the season.” Stoudenmire, the OP head coach, pondered following the loss, “I don't know We'll be alright though. We'll be back.

         “We had a great team. To finish 26-1, who can complain about that? The sad part about that is if you come to Sumter, you're either going to be undefeated or you're going to lose a game. It is what it is.”

         Even though Orangeburg Prep had lost three starters from last season’s semifinal team, Stoudenmire isn’t surprised this team ended up a game away from playing for the championship.

         “These kids are just great kids, and I'm so proud of them,” she said. “I didn't think we'd be 26-1, but did I think we'd be here? Yeah, I thought we'd be here.”

        And one of the main reasons the Lady Indians were there is because of a quartet of starters who were selected to the All-Region 4-AAA team. They are senior Katherine Lambrecht, junior Jane Walker Yonce, junior Izzy Exum and junior Annabelle Hunter.

          Lambrecht led the team in scoring with a 14.5 per-game average. She also led the team in steals with 6.0 to go along with 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

          Yonce and Exum both averaged double-doubles. Yonce averaged 11.3 points and 11.0 rebounds to go with 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals. Exum averaged 10.0 points and 10.0 rebounds to go with 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals.

          Hunter averaged 9.0 points, 4.0 steals, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Hunter was also named to the All-Tournament team for the state tournament.

         Stoudenmire said there is no doubt that Lambrecht will be missed next season.

         “The thing with Katherine Lambrecht is replacing her leadership skills,” Stoudenmire said. “She's such a good leader. in holding the kids accountable for stuff. She does it the right way. She takes charge of whatever she's doing.”

         Lambrecht is one of two seniors, the other one being reserve Payton Schurlknight. That means Orangeburg Prep will be returning four starters next season, the other one being junior Graysen Garrick, as well as most of the reserves.

         Stoudenmire pointed out that depth is what made the Lady Indians so good.

         “Last year we lost three starters and the year before that we lost four starters, so we've lost a lot to graduation the last two years,” Stoudenmire said. “The JV (junior varsity) team coached by my daughter, they were undefeated for two or three years in a row, so they just worked hard this summer and stepped right in. 

         “The reason we were so successful this year is because I had 11 girls that any of them could have played. At practice my starting five was challenged every single day because of those girls sitting on the bench. They wanted playing time too. They got after them every single day It wasn't just like games we had to get ready for. These kids worked hard at practice.”

        The other returning players are sophomores Hannah Lambrecht, Prestan Schurlknight, Jaymie Culler and Kate Holstein and freshman Mary Legare Delaney.

        Orangeburg Prep played for the AA state title in 2022, losing to Hilton Head Christian Academy, which has claimed a state title for six straight seasons. With reclassification set for the 2024-25 school year, HHCA, John Paul II and Palmetto Christian Academy, the other three AAA semifinalists, will be playing AAAA next season. Orangeburg Prep will remain at AAA.

       Stoudenmire knows regardless of the opposition, the Lady Indians will be ready to make a run for a state title next year as well.

       “They don't know anything else, but wanting to be here,” she said. “That's what their goal is; it is to be here. 

       “This group that I have they'll be ready to start. They all play other stuff. Every one of them plays something else, but they'll be ready to get in the gym and get better. They want to get better.”

ORANGEBURG PREP BOYS REACH QUARTERFINALS

           The Orangeburg Prep boys basketball team reached the quarterfinals of the SCISA AAA state playoffs, beating John Paul II 57-37 in the first round before falling to eventual state runner-up Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach 67-42 in the quarterfinals.

           The Indians finished the season with an 18-8 overall record. Orangeburg Prep head coach Al Hay had no complaints on the season his team put together.

        “Overall, we had a great season,” Hay said. “We had a couple of young players who are sophomores who are really good players. Plus, we had several seniors who showed good leadership and did a good job all season.”

           The two sophomores, Tilden “T” Riley and Avery Ravenell, were selected to the All-Region 4-AAA team. The 6-foot-5-inch Riley just missed averaging a double-double with averages of 14.5 and 9.7 rebounds per contest. He also averaged 3.0 blocked shots. Ravenell averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals.,

           They were joined on the All-Region team by senior teammate Austin Hall. He averaged 11.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals.

           In the victory over John Paull II, Orangeburg Prep led 19-8 after one quarter. The Indians maintained an 11-point advantage both at halftime and after three quarters. They put the game away in the fourth quarter.

           “We got off to a great start and we did some good things,” Hay said. “We kind of got in the flow of the game, we ran our offense well. We hit a little lull there in the third quarter, but we picked it up and did enough to finish.”

           The Indians got seven points from Riley in the first quarter and six from senior Jay Plummer on a pair of 3-point baskets. Hall had four points.

           Riley finished with a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds to go with six blocked shots. Hall had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Ravenell had eight points and six assists. Plummer had nine points, and senior Harris Holstein added five.

           In the loss to Christian Academy, Hall led the Indians with 16 points. Riley had 15 and Ravenell had seven.

The five OP seniors are Hall, Plummer, Holstein, Latron Moorer and Daytron Moorer.