Northwestern HC Ginnell Curtis with Alyvia Tocco, Rylan Dundon, and Maliyah Birch.

Jayden Alexander scores a bucket on a break Dec. 30 during the Roundball Classic showcase.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Lake City — Perry Stokes begins his second season as the head varsity and junior varsity girls’ basketball coach at The Carolina Academy, and with a group of 8 th and 9 th graders his team came out of the holiday break at 2-6. “Last year we had only five players, and they were all seniors, so this year things sort of went in reverse and we have players up from the junior varsity last year and we have 10 8 th and 9 th graders playing this season,” said Coach Stokes who has over 750 career wins and two state titles on his resume from other schools. “I tried to talk some juniors and seniors into playing this season but they decided not to.” Carolina Academy’s two wins came over Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach 33-25 and 34-21. In the first win freshman small forward Ella Ham and freshman shooting guard Emma Amos leading the way with 13 and 12 points respectively. In the second win Amos was the top scorer with 10 points and 8 th grade point guard Natalie Braveboy contributed 8 points. “We have played a really tough schedule and I think we will be very competitive with our region play starting this week,” said Coach Stokes. “We participated in the Pee Dee Invitational at Pee Dee Academy and we only lost by one point to Lake View and we could have won that game. Lake View is the defending Class A champions in South Carolina. “We have played teams like Pee Dee Academy , Florence Christian, Aynor and Wilson Hall so we have played a tough early season schedule,” said Coach Stokes. “The strength of our team is how well we play defense. We might be in a lot of low scoring games once region play starts but I feel like we will be competitive.” The silver lining for the lady Bobcats program is that participation is up. “We have a total of 23 players in grades six through 9 in our program and not one sophomore, junior, or senior is playing basketball,” said Coach Stokes. “These players are all working hard and the program should be really good in a year or two if these players stick with it.” The other two starters are freshman small forward Lauren Sims , a defensive specialist averaging two points a game. Paisley McCutcheon is an 8 th grader starting at a shooting guard and she is averaging 4.4 points a game. Amos leads the team in scoring at seven points a game while Braveboy and Ham are each averaging g six points. Ham is averaging five rebounds a game also. The first two players off the bench are usually freshman guard Abby Walker and 8 th grade forward Kaylie Lyerly . Ronding out the roster are 8 th grade guard Ki Ki Hanna , 9 th grade guard Kate Turner , and 9 th grade guard Katherine Holliday . On Jan. 7 th Carolina Academy will start region play at Kings Academy and then two days later they travel to Williamsburg Academy . On the next day (Friday) they host Lee Academy in a region game.  Coach Stokes is assisted by son Heath Stokes who has been with him for over 20 years. He is also thankful to have the help from Ruby Amos who is a student at USC Sumter.

Porter Gaud senior RB Tony Brown came into the finals having rushed for 1,339 yards and 17 touchdowns

ZJ Jenkins takes a shot for Summerville Dec. 30 during the Roundball Classic showcase.

St. John's Christian junior guard Reagan Ashby.

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR GOOSE CREEK – Stratford High School’s girls basketball team recorded its sixth win of the 2024-25 season – two more than all of 2023-24 – with an 80-49 rout of visiting Colleton County Friday, Jan. 3, at Stratford. “They played well,” Knights coach Camille Toliver said. “That’s what we’ve been preaching, to play our ball no matter the opponent, no matter the score. We lock in. We score. We swing the ball around. We rebound the basketball. We get putbacks. We trust what we practice.” Stratford (6-8) tallied 18 points in the opening quarter, then erupted for 34 more in the second stanza to grab a 52-26 halftime lead. This season, the Knights return region player of the year Ciara Mustapher and fellow all-region selection Sydnie Stepney . Mustapher leads in scoring and assists, while Stepney is tops on the team in rebounds, steals and blocks. Both players are senior captains.  “They drive what we have, Ciara offensively and Sydnie defensively,” Toliver said. “Those are two girls who work really hard. They’re leaders. Any time the gym is open, they’re in here working.” Mustapher averages more than 20 points per game this winter. She’s been a varsity player since her freshman year. “She’s one of the most loyal players to come through this program,” Toliver said. “She played all the way through the bumps and bruises before our state run a couple years ago. She decided she wanted to be a Knight. She stayed a Knight. In this day and age, it’s so easy to go somewhere else. It’s amazing of her to stay at the school she’s at, have pride in her program, to work hard and push her teammates.” Stepney stacks numbers of rebounds, steals and blocks. She has a knack for making plays around the basket. “She realized last year her thing was defense, getting steals, getting blocks and getting rebounds,” Toliver said. “She plays level-headed. She communicates well down low and lets her teammates know what is going on. She stays composed and goes after the ball. She has great instinct on the basketball, reading passes and seeing passes.” More contributors are freshman Averi Johnson , junior captain Harleigh Mosley , sophomore Jadeyn Wright , senior Raniyah McKune and senior Zay Brown. Stratford is at Summerville (12-1) Tuesday, Jan. 7, in a non-region game before opening the Region 7-5A slate at home Friday, Jan. 10, against Wando High School (13-1). The Knights then host Lucy Beckham (4-5) Tuesday, Jan. 14, and travel to Cane Bay (3-10) Friday, Jan. 17, and Berkeley (10-3) Tuesday, Jan. 21. Stratford caps the first rotation through league play at home versus rival Goose Creek (5-6) Friday, Jan. 24.

Gray senior Quan McDuffie , who averages 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Hanahan's sophomore guard Bri Johnsen.

Senior Dutch Fork RB Maurice Anderson

Chapin's senior QB Brady Albro.

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR MONCKS CORNER – Berkeley High School’s basketball teams have been ranked inside the top 10 all winter and have backed it up with their play on the hardwood. The Stags’s girls extended their win streak to eight games and improved to 10-2 with an exciting, 57-53 victory at First Baptist Dec. 30, to finish the Carolina Invitational with a 3-0 mark. “It’s about some of them learning me and learning how we operate, learning the system and jelling together,” said Berkeley coach Crystal Peace , whose team is ranked No. 6 in Class 5A Div. II. “There are 12 girls on the roster. There are going to be times when you might be playing tonight, and somebody else plays the next night. It depends on how the game is flowing. I just appreciate the girls for embracing their roles and doing what we ask them to do. I tell anybody I work them hard, and they work extremely hard.” Freshman Alaina Carter paces the Stags on the scoreboard for the season with 12 points per game, while sophomore Amani McCray and junior Demi Gray chip in more than nine points a contest. McCray leads around the glass with 7.4 boards per game, and junior Aiyanna Moses is the steals and assists leader. Moses, sophomore Imani Levey and junior Madison Thomas all average right at seven points. Levey and Ladson grab more than four boards per game. The Berkeley boys won their 11 th straight game Dec. 30, edging Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy. Against ELCA, senior Cam Palmer scored a game-high 22 points, and junior Justin Suarez tallied 13 points for the Stags. Deuce Kinloch leads in scoring and rebounding with 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. John Cleveland also reaches double figures in scoring at 13.3 points per game. Jordan Livingston chips in six boards and 1.7 steals per game. “We know we’ve got to keep getting better because what we’re doing now doesn’t matter at the end of the season,” BHS coach Matt Mullins said. “Our defense has been solid since I’ve been here. I think we’ve gotten better offensively. We’re a bit deeper than we’ve been the past couple of years. Some of the guys who have come up from junior varsity have contributed, and we haven’t missed a beat.”

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR SUMMERVILLE – Cane Bay High School’s boys basketball team has produced some sensational performances during the first half of the year, including a school-record output in one contest and a 22-point victory at a top 3 squad in its classification a few days later. The Cobras’ latest success might be their best win of the campaign. Cane Bay improved to 9-4 with a signature win over Wren High School, 58-56, Dec. 30. “They’re really, really good,” Cane Bay coach Shawn McKeen said about the Hurricanes, who won a 3A title in 2023 and played for the Upper State title in 4A in 2024. “They’re always very well-coached. We’ve played them three times in the Carolina Invitational. It’s always a good test for us. They’re going to be in the hunt in Class 4A.” Also notable, Cane Bay torched Beaufort , 107-36, Friday, Dec. 6, and pulled away from then No. 3 Summerville 76-54, Tuesday, Dec. 10. “Right now, I love where we’re at,” McKeen said. “Everybody is healthy. We have 16 kids on the varsity team, and there have been a couple of games where we have been able to play everybody. They’re putting the team first. They’re buying in.” In particular, the Cobras’ depth has been on display. They were down a handful of guys in two of their losses but competed well. Junior forward Jarvis Roper and senior forward Kevin Dukes lead the Cobras on the scoreboard, tallying 14 and 10 points per game, respectively. Sophomore guards Jahleel Sanders and Landon Thompson average seven and six points. Dukes and sophomore forward Christian Davis are out front in rebounds, with better than five per contest. Sanders leads in assists and junior Amare Merrell in steals. Junior guard Jayden Waring has been a consistent contributor night in and night out. Freshman forward Jamel McKinley and junior guard Andre Hagler have made their presence felt recently, too, since coming up from JV and returning from an injury. The Cobras travel to Cathedral for another non-region game Tuesday, Jan. 7, before cranking up Region 7-5A play Friday, Jan. 10, at Goose Creek. “The biggest thing now is not going backward,” McKeen said.

May River's Andrew Johnson rushed for 1,158 yards and 16 TD's this season.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Greenwood — Coming out of the holiday break, the Emerald boys’ basketball team, head coached by John Scruggs , was 6-7, but focused on steady improvement with region play about to start in early January. “We are in a very tough new region with realignment and we have moved up from AAA to AAAA,” said Coach Scruggs. “We are just trying to work hard and get better day-by-day. It would be a major accomplishment if we could keep improving and earn a trip to the play-offs at the end of the regular season.” To date the Vikings are led by senior post-player Da’marius Hopkins (6-4, 215) who is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. “Damarius has really grown up and matured a lot over the past year,” said Coach Scruggs. “He is a late bloomer with good ball skills and he has had a couple double-double games already this season.” Coach Scruggs is also very high on freshman shooting guard Beau Hite. “ Beau is very coachable and he is getting better with every game. He scored 26 points against Greenwood recently; He was the starting quarterback on the football team and he plays baseball in the Spring. He is a young man with a bright future in all three esports.” Hite came out of the break averaging 5.2 points and 2.6 rebounds a game including 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals a game. Senior point guard Key Holloway is described as the “alpha male” on the team by Coach Scruggs. “He’s the engine of the team and he makes us go.” Holloway is currently averaging 4.7 points and four rebounds a game with 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals a game. Other starters, or key players, include junior guard Malachi Dunlap averaging 8.6 points and 2.4 rebounds a game. Dunlap is also getting 2.9 steals and two assists an outing. Sophomore small forward Rykevius Logan is producing 9.7 points and 7.3 rebounds a game.“ Another key player is SG Mekhi Williams is one of the better defenders on the team. Zaden Pettigrew is one of the first players off-the-bench averaging 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds a game. Combo-guard John Flemmings is a senior captain and among the hardest workers on the team. Other members of the team include junior forward Zymere Goodman , junior PG Darious Johnson , junior SG Jardin Porter and junior SF Dementrious Allen . In December some of the team’s had wins came over Swansea , Crescent (twice), Ninety -Six, and Ware Shoals . Emerald Girl’s Basketball Team Starts Out 4-4 in December Barry Kinard’s Emerald girls team went 4-4 in the month of December and the Lady Vikings are led by talented freshman Jurnee Williams averaging 10 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.8 steals and two assists a game so far in the 2024-25 season. Williams was recently named “Tournament MVP” in a holiday tournament Emerald participated in. “Jurnee is a very dynamic player,” said Coach Kinard. “She has high energy and she gets after it every game.” Other starters for Emerald include SG Ryonna Talbert (6.5 pts & 4 rebounds) along with senior SF Arrianna Parks (3 pts & 4.5 rebounds) who is described as very consistent and coachable player. Senior Ketorey Brown (4,4 pts & 5 rebounds) is the team’s starting PG. Junior Le’Asia Morgan, a starting center, earned “Player of the Game honors in the “She Got Next Tourney” and she comes into January averaging 8.9 points and 13.3 rebounds a game. Two key players off the bench include forward Savannah Dover and SG Aleecia Smith . “The strength of our basketball team is their work ethic,” said Coach Kinard. “They come to practice everyday will to work and get better. The expectations for this team are to compete, play good defense, and control the tempo.”

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Dillon —After the Dillon High girl’s basketball team finished (19-6, 9-1) a year ago, with no seniors on the team, expectations are very high for even greater season during the 2024-25 season.  After 11 games of the season, Dillon is 8-3 and the injury bug has hit the team very hard. “We have not been at full strength, as a team, since our second game of the season,” said veteran Dillon head coach James McMillian , now in his 9 th season with the Wildcats. “ Mariah Campbell has missed our last 9 games and Treasure Davis has missed our last five games, and she was limited with a wrist injury in the third game of the season, and she tried to play a few games with limited minutes before we had to rest her. “We expect to have both players back in the very near future, and when we are at full- strength I feel really good about our chances for a deep play-off run,” said Coach McMillian. “The silver lining is that having several platers out early in the season, it has made us have to play other players more, and they have stepped up and gained valuable experience. “I feel like we will be ready for a strong finish, once we get everyone healthy,” said Coach McMillian. “We just hope the rest of our season, after the holiday break, will be like our first two wins of the season.” Dillon opened the season against Conway on December, 6 th with Davis ( a freshman who scored 654 points in her 7 th and 8 th grade seasons) leading all scorers with 21 points while Campbell was next in scoring with 11 points. Dillon played Crestwood the next day, and avenged a loss to the Knights, who ended the Wildcats season in 2023-24 with a second -round win over the Wildcats. With Davis and Campbell scoring 18 and 14 points respectively Dillon improved to 2-0 with a 58-55 win. Then four days later, with Campbell out, due to a medical issue, Dillon went to Crestwood and won 57-52. Davis scored 26 points to lead the team. However, Coach McMillian was very impressed with soph guard Khwnylahi McKinnon stepping up with 19 points in the game. Then in game four, with Campbell out, and Davis playing only four or five minutes with the wrist injury she sustained in the fourth period versus Crestwood, Dillon improved to 4-0 with a 38-23 win over Conway. McKinnon led the offense with 11 points, and this time senor guard Ayonna Lester stepped up and scored 10 points in the Wildcats win. In limited action, Davis scored 9 points. Over the next seven games Dillon went 4-3 with wins over Marion (55-48), Purnell Sweat , NC (52-45), Red Springs , NC (54-34) and Manning (51-38). The losses came against Fairmont , NC (L 54-41), Blythewood (L 63-25), and Scott’s Branch (L 44-43). Against Marion, Davis poured in a career high 41 points. Against Manning, McKinnon dropped in a season high 25 points. While Campbell has been out, two players have stepped up in her place. They are soph guard Azyriah Ford and junior guard Zynijah Pernell . The other starter for Dillon is senior forward Zadaiya Moody. Other hard-working members of the team include junior PF Jiana McGill , sophomore guard Jaziyah Leggette , junior PF Alyssa Lee , junior PF Jaleah Bethea , and senior PF Kiasia McLeod . Coming into January, Dillon is led by three players in double figures. Davis, a top freshman prospect, is averaging 21.7 points and 9 rebounds in the games she has played in. Davis is also averaging 3.1 steals and 2.1 steals a game. Campbell is at 12.5 points a game including six rebounds and 3.5 assists a game. McKinnon is averaging 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds a game including three assists a game. Lester is having a solid year with six points and 5.3 rebounds a game and she leads the team in steals at 3.4 a game. In January Dillon will play 9 games. They start off at home against Lake View on Jan. 8 th before starting the region schedule at home against Loris on the 10 th . On the 14 th they travel to Lake View before a road region game at Marlboro County on the 17 th . Games follow at home against Waccamaw on the 21 st , away at Georgetown on the 24 th , before an away game at Loris on the 28 th . Dillon then closes out the month of January with a home game against Aynor on the 31 st .

Flashes get playoff victory, push Lake View to limit in 5-7 season

Fifth-year head coach considered resigning after first season with Bruins

Both JDA basketball teams off to succesful starts in region play

Players have first winning season as Crusaders in run to title game

Eagles finish 10-3, reach quarterfinals of AA state playoffs

Raiders reach third round of Class A state playoffs

Golden Eagles win second state championship in three years

Bears win AAA Upper State title before falling to Oceanside Collegiate for state championship

Dillon's Zay Robertson, All-Region and All-State Receiver plus 200 meter Sprint champion.

Junior RB for Thomas Heyward Academy, Tony O'Banner.

Spartanburg Day Varsity Boys Basketball team.

Da'Marion Coe, Hakeem Watters selected as Co-Region Players of the Year

Owen Meyers Region Defensive Player of the Year

Barnwell's senior QB Cameron Austin

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gaffney — With six state titles on his resume, as a boy’s head basketball coach, Gaffney girl’s head coach Mark Huff (598-232) appears to have a roster full of talented and dedicated players as the Lady Indians have come out of the holiday break at 13-0. The Indians appeared destined for a championship run a year ago until forward Shirah Harris broke a bone in her foot near the end of the season. The team rallied and won the region title on a huge win over Byrnes in the final regular season game. “Shirah is back and 100 per cent healthy,” said Coach Huff. “She is one of our captains and she is just a great kid to have on your team. She plays hard all the time and she is a great rebounder and she goes to the basket hard to score baskets inside.” Through 13 games Harris is leading the team in scoring at 19.1 points a game, 8.1 rebounds, and she is shooting 55 per cent form the field. “When Harris went down last year, Tinah “TT” Hopper picked up where Harris left off and carried us the rest of the season,” said Coach Huff. “She is having a great season for us right now and she and Shirah give us two six-foot players on the inside.”  Hopper is averaging 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds a game after 13 games of the 2024-25 season. Coach Huff describes sophomore point guard Lauren Mathis as “the quarterback of the team.” Mathis is a third- year starter and is only a sophomore. She is averaging 7 points and 2.1 points a game. Mathis is also an all-state tennis player. Junior small forward Korbyn Lydia was an all-region performer on the softball team this past Spring and she is also an excellent basketball player. Lydia is averaging 10 points a game including 2.9 assists and 2.6 steals a game. The other captain on the team is senior wing player Izzy Sarratt . “She is one of our best all-ball defenders and she has worked hard to improve her scoring this season,” Coach Huff. Sarratt comes into January averaging 7.2 points, two rebounds,3.8 assists and 2.6 steals a game. One of the first wing subs off the bench is freshman Kaylin “ Kay Kay ” Houze . She is averaging five points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 steals a game. One of the first post subs off the bench is senior Chiara Terlizzi and she is currently averaging 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds a game. The rest of the team is made up of senior forward Kymora Pearson who can play forward or in the post. Junior Kourtney Caraway is a point guard and freshman Taylor Smith is a power forward up from the junior varsity. Gaffney began the season on November, 22 with a 70-30 win over Travelers Rest . They went on to beat Wren (72-40), Fountain Inn (60-20), Clover (43-37), Fort Mill (56-39), Wade Hampton (81-13),Fort Mill again (70-49), Eastside (68-17), Greer (76-26), Cross Creek (67-40), East Gaston (72-6), and Irmo (68-36) on December, 30. “Our defense has really improved over last season, and we are playing the girls on defense like I use to with my boy’s teams,” said Coach Huff. “We pressure full-court and play hard the entire game. “This team has a lot of experienced players,” said Coach Huff. “Lauren played 11 games on the varsity as a 7 th grader and TT played 16 games for us in the 8 th grade and Korbyn played on the varsity as a freshman,” said Coach Huff. “Izzy played a lot on the varsity her freshman year also.” One situation did concern Coach Huff in a recent game. “We were playing in a tournament in the Bennett Bennett Memorial at Clover High and we had a 32-8 lead over Irmo at the half,” said Coach Huff. “In the third quarter we had a lull, kike we took our foot of the gas and you hate to see this as a coach. We need to play hard all 32 minutes.” Does Coach Huff feel like this team can win a state championship. “If we can stay healthy, we want to defend our region title and be playing our best basketball going into the play-offs,” said Coach Huff. “We are certainly capable of a state title run but we have a lot of basketball to play.” Speaking of that, Gaffney will play Byrnes and Dorman in early January after Spring break. “I just hope we keep winning and keep playing hard,” said Coach Huff. Coach Huff said he is excited about adding Bubba Price to his coaching staff this season, “Bubba played on one of my state championship teams in 2009 and he decided to come back home to Gaffney this season and he has brought a lot of good ideas with him that we are using.” Coach Huff’s other assistants are Jasmine Kearse and Julian Wright .

Hammond's Michael Tyler laying out for the TD catch in the SCISA AAAA title game.

Spartanburg Day Girls Varsity Basketball Team

All-Region selected Senior wide receiver Ja'Keese Salley.

By: Gerald Doolittle Contributing Writer Batesburg - Leesville, S.C. – The 2024-25 basketball season at W.W. King Academy will be another season of rebuilding both Girls and Boys varsity basketball. Last season W.W. King did not have a varsity girls team because there was not enough participation from the upper grades to have a team. This year the program gets a new start with Jessica Anderson filling the coaching slot. Coach Anderson is restarting the program with six girls. McKenzie Wannamaker is the only senior on the roster. Kenzie Morse is the only junior. The two sophomores are Milana Beale and Zoey Livingston . The two freshmen are Emily Manley and Grace Black .  The Lady Knights will enter the new year with a 0-1 record. They dropped their season opener to Pelion High School . Dennis Gibson is coming out of retirement to coach the varsity boys team. He will have a young roster loaded with freshmen and sophomores. He will have Spencer McCormick (jr) and Wyatt Burbank (jr) as the experience leaders along with sophomores Colton Black, Elijah Hutto, Landell Anderson and Jacob Clamp. Coach Gibson sees a bright future for the program in the eight freshmen coming up from the middle school program where they had a winning record under Scott Buzhardt . The freshmen players are Jonathon Chapman, Bubba Buzhardt, Joey Bradley, Kai Hoover , Joseph Morse, Colby Buzhardt, Bryson Burnett and Joshua Oswald . The youngest player on the Knights roster is Tucker McGinty (8th) who is a star in the making. The Knights so far in the 2024-25 season have loss three games to Anderson Christian , Cambridge and Pelion High School. Coach Gibson hopes to have a competitive team as his players mature with more playing time.

Panthers win 12 straight games before falling to eventual AA state champion Clinton

Two Generals selected to All-Region football team

Eagles' Quintin Jackson selected to SCFCA Class A All-State football team