Lake City girls baketball team putting together special season

Lake City – What started out as a turaround season for the Lake City High School girls basketball team has quickly turned into a special one.

The Panthers are 12-4 overall and 8-0 iin Region 7-AA under first-year head coach Shaquetta Cooper. LCHS is ranked fourth in the latest South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association AA poll.

While Lake City may have caught many off guard, Cooper isn’t one of them.

“It came to me as no surprise,” Cooper said. “They work hard every day at practice and have a relentless dedication to improve. They are extremely competitive, but it is important to channel that competitiveness strategically.”

The Panthers are led by an eighth-grader in Hannah Riles. She is the leading scorer at 12.9 points per game. She’s also averaging 3.4 steals, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

“Riles is gem,” Cooper said. “She’s very competitive and very hard on herself. I see much success for her as she continues her journey both on and off the court.”

Other key performers are juniors Jada Robinson and Nashira Starks and seniors Jayda Burgess and Tyra Jones. Robinson is averaging 8.3 points 5.6 rebounds and 3.3 steals. Starks is averaging 7.3 points and a team high 7.2 rebounds, Jones is averaging 4.6 points and 3.1 steals , and Burgess is averaging 5.1 points and 5.6 rebounds.

Cooper is preaching to her team not to get comfortable with its success.

“We will tell the girls that we are only as good as we push ourselves to be,” Cooper said. “We are not madNo.3 e to be quitters. Every day, no matter if it’s practice or a game, leave it all on the floor. Go hard, have fun, and play smart, continue to stick to the plan and remain as a unit.“

LAKE CITY BOYS 4-4 IN REGION

The Lake City boys play in a region that has four teams ranked in the top 10 in the latest poll in No. 2 Atlantic Collegiate Academy, No.3 Mullins, No. 5 Manning and Marion, which is tied for 10th. That the Panthers are 4-4 makes head coach Seneca Barron quite happy.

It's definitely a blessing to be 4-4 in this region,” said Barron, whose team is 7-6 overall. “Every day we continue to put one foot forward and continue to work hard daily on the game of basketball, but more importantly on this thing we call life. 

“Down this very important stretch we have to take care of the basketball better and play more team basketball because at times we try to do things ourselves, especially on offense. When we play as a team, i like our chances against anyone.”

Senior Blayne Edwards leads LCHS in scoring at 13.6 points while grabbing 6.5 rebounds. Senior Kenjae Burgess is averaging 11.2 points and a team high 4.2 2 steals, while Devin Cockfield leads in rebounding at 11.2 to go with 7.8 points.