Lake View rallies to win first state championship

By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSR

Florence – Trailing 45-41 with 1:32 left in the game things looked bleak for Lake View when head coach Larry Inman called timeout to settle his team down, that turned out to be what they needed as they finished the game on an 8-1 run to capture their first girls state basketball championship 49-46 over Denmark-Olar.

“When I called timeout, I was a little hysterical, but the girls looked at me and said coach we got this, we got this,” said a smiling coach Inman after the game. “I told the girls that if we get one basket to get ahead, we can bring it home.”

Coach continued, “We made history today for Lake View. We won the first lower state championship earlier and now the first state championship. They are probably going to give us a parade back in Lake View.”

For Denmark-Olar the season turned bitter-sweet in that 1:32 as they finished state runner up for the third consecutive year. They had a couple of turnovers and an offensive foul in that stretch, and it was too much to overcome.

“Our youth came into play in that last minute of play. We made those mental errors that led to the turnovers, and we let one slip away,” said a dejected Denmark-Olar head coach Terrance Jones.

Lake View started the game on a 7-0 run as senior All-State guard Jaleya Ford scored six of those seven points. She would finish the night with a team high of twenty-one points.

Denmark-Olar coach Jones called timeout to settle his girls down and it did the trick as they outscored Lake View 8-6 the rest of the quarter and it ended with the Lady Wild Gators up 13-8.

The Lady Vikings All-State guard Av’eian Walker keyed the turn around as she scored seven of the eight points on her way to a game high 24-point morning.

“Av’eian is the heart of our team. She played a great game and tried to bring us home,” coach Jones said.

Lake View’s lead could have been larger except for eight missed free throws in the quarter. The missed free throws would be an issue all game for the Lady Wild Gators.

The second quarter saw Ford and Walker trade baskets for their teams, and they went to the half with Lake View on top 21-18. Denmark-Olar’s Amuria Wright had a three-pointer in the quarter.

Both teams played solid defense in the first half which led to the lack of offense. One of the key players for Lake View was senior Emma King. She had a rough night shooting but more than made up for on the defensive end causing turnover, diving for loose balls, and leading the team in rebounding with ten on the night.

Ford was also stellar as she had a team high five blocked shots to go with four steals while fellow All-State selection Gwendasia Page had a team high five steals.

Denmark-Olar’s Walker and Ry’naisha Barnes played solid defense as well, with Walker getting five steals and Barnes having three.

Behind Walkers seven points and Azauria Wright four points the Lady Vikings fought back to take their first lead of the game at 35-33.

Lake View tied it on a put back by Zy’Kiara Waters right before the buzzer and the teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 35. Page scored seven of her fourteen points in the quarter.

Behind Walker’s eight points in the quarter the Lady Vikings took their largest lead of the night at 45-41 when Inman called time out at 1:32.

After the timeout, Lake View’s Ford scored four quick points to tie the game at 45 forcing Denmark-Olar’s Jones to call a timeout.

Coming out of the time Waters got a rebound and was fouled in the act of shooting on the put back, so she headed to the foul line to shoot two free throws. She nailed them both to give the Lady Wild Gators a 47-45 lead.

The Lady Vikings came down with a chance to tie the game. Lake View forced the ball out of bounds underneath the Denmark-Olar basket. Then Ford came up with the biggest play of the game as she drew an offensive foul to give the ball back to Lake View.

Denmark-Olar fouled Page and sent her to the foul line. Despite missing six of her previous eight free throws, she calmly sank both shots for the final score of 49-46.

Lake View finished the year at 26-4/8-0 while Denmark-Olar finished 25-4/14-0.