Cross School girls basketball team wins state again -- this time at SCISA AA

        Sumter – Even though the Cross Schools girls basketball team had no seniors on last year’s SCISA Class A state championship team, the fact Cross would be playing at the AA level in 2024-25 due to reclassification certainly gave a different dynamic to what lay ahead.

       That was foreseen, but what wasn’t expected was when the head coach and starting point guard left the team in mid-December. In stepped boys basketball head coach Doc Archibald to take over the team and the Stingrays adjusted, and now they can call themselves the 2-time defending state champions.

       Cross claimed the AA state crown on Saturday at Sumter County Civic Center, beating Laurens Academy 45-29.

       “It’s all about these girls,” Arichibald said. “They’re the ones who came together. When I took over, we lost our starting point guard. It’s all about them coming together and doing something bigger than themselves.”

       “It’s an amazing feeling,” said Cross senior Genesis Wilson, a starter who became the point guard. “It was challenging at first, switching coaches, but we pushed through. All the glory to God.”

       The Stingrays, who finished the year with a 19-10 record, got off to a slow start on Saturday. After Cross took leads of 2-0 and 4-2, the Lady Crusaders’ Braylee Burk hit consecutive 3-point baskets and Sadie Bruyere added another to make it 11-4 with 34 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

       That would be the high point of the game for Laurens, which finished the year with an 18-8 record. The Stingrays began to ratchet up their pressure defense – Archibald said it could be considered both a 1-2-2 press or a 1-2-1-1 press – and it made it very difficult for LA to operate its offense.

       Laurens only scored four points in the second quarter as Cross Schools rallied to take a 20-15 lead into halftime. After Bruyere hit a free throw to start the second half and make it 20-16, the Stingrays got consecutive baskets from Ryan Mayers and a free throw from Wilson made it 25-16. After LA’s Abby Howard hit a layup, freshman Caroline Wheat hit a trey to give Cross its first double-digit lead at 28-18 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

"We played better in the second half," Wilson said. "I think we got all the jitters out."

       The Lady Crusaders cut the advantage back to 31-24 before Wheat hit a 3 at the buzzer to give the Stingrays a 34-24 lead. Cross scored the first points of the fourth quarter as it held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

       “The turnovers got to us,” said veteran Lady Crusaders head coach Jason Marlett. “I’d like to say we’re young. We’ve got seventh-graders, eighth-graders, ninth-graders out there handling the ball, and we do, but I’ll give credit to Cross. They play really good defense. They’re aggressive, they kept the pressure on us, and they turned it into points, especially there in the third quarter. It kind of got away from us.”

       “I think it’s the hustle,” Mayers replied when asked what makes the Stingrays’ press so successful. “Usually the second half has always been our half.”

       Mayers led the Stingrays with 17 points. Wheat, who joined the team after the coaching change, finished with 11. Reyannah Maldonado had six, Lexann Maldonado four, Wilson three, Savannah Hollings two and Sydney Hollings two.

       Bruyere led the Lady Crusaders with 10 points. Burke finished with nine, all on 3s, Howard had four, Madisy6n Graham three, Mackenzie Runyans two and Caroline Robinson one.

       “I’m proud of my girls,” Marlett said. “We needed to hit more shots., and it was hard for us to create turnovers, but we gave it our best effort.

       “We lost eight players from last year’s team. These are tough kids, tough ladies. They improved offensively throughout the year. They had to plug themselves in to get better.”

       Making the all-tournament team from Cross Schools were Mayers, Wilson and Lexann Maldonado. Bruyere and Howard made the team from Laurens along with Emery McClure of Dorchester Academy.

       Archibald said he is proud of how the Stingrays adjusted not only to him, but to the style of play he brought with him.

       “We had to play kind of a different style,” Archibald said. “We had to play halfcourt before, and that’s what they should have been doing. With the change it made more sense for us to pick up the pace. We had the athletes at the AA level to speed up the game and use our athleticism.

       “We just wanted to do what we do, and we felt fhe pressure would wear them out. And you could see that in the second half.”

“I’m very glad we got to do it again, especially for our seniors (Wilson and Alaysia Hollings),” Mayers said of winning state again.