Laurence Manning basketball teams waiting on tournament reveal

Manning – Now it’s just a matter of sitting back and waiting for both the Laurence Manning

Academy boys and girls basketball teams.

`What the two teams are waiting on is to see if each has done enough to earn a berth in the SCISA

AAAA state tournament, which is slated to begin the first round on February 14-15 at sites around the

state.

The Laurence Manning boys finished the regular season with a 13-14 overall record after losing

to Trinitty Collegiate in the semifinals of the Region 3 tournament. The Lady ‘Cats did the same

in the region tournament – losing to Trinity Collegiate – to finish 14-11.

Based on past years and teams that made the field with much worse records, one would think both

teams are safe. Boys head coach Patrick Anderon and Lady ‘Cats head coach Lisa Ard – both in their

first seasons in the positions – just aren’t certain.

“We’re just taking it day by day, one game at a time,” said Anderson, who was an assistant coach

for several years before becoming head coach this season.

“ I just don’t know if we’ve done enough,” said Ard, the veteran coach who was the head coach

at Crestwood High School for several years.

The Laurence Manning boys finished 6-4 in a tightly contested region. Wilson Hall and Trinity

Collegiate were both 8-2 while the Swampcats and John Paul II finished 6-4 marks. Hilton Head

Christian Academy was 2-8, and the sixth team, Camden Military, was winless in 10 games.

“Our region was certainly deeper than it has been the last few years,” Anderson said. “Anybody

could beat anybody.”

Laurence Manning has been led in scoring, rebounding and steals by freshman Scoop Dennis. He

is averaging 15.3 points per game to go with a 5.8 rebounding average and a 2.5 steals average.

Leading the Swampcats in assists is junior Zy Dennis, Scoop’s brother. He is averaging 3.3

assists to go with a 6.8 scoring average, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals.

Junior Charlie Duvall is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.2 points per contest. Senior

Brentston Rembert is averaging 8.4 points and 3.7 rebounds, and sophomore Ben Sanders averages 5.9

points.

Anderson is pleased with how the Swampcats have developed as a unit.

“They’re growing every day, maturing every day,” he said. “We’ve been in a lot of tight games,

overtime wins. We’ve gained lots of valuable experience for the young guys.

“They’ve just been learning how to play with each other better every day, build chemistry. We

had three players from last year, so we’ve been able to progress and build chemistry over time.”

The only other senior on the roster besides Rembert is Peyton Price. The rest of the team

includes junior Whitley Boykin, junior Walker Cribb, sophomore Tristen White, sophomore Cade

Mooneyham, junior Camdyn Strickler, junior Shawn Thomas Moore and sophomore Eli Gamble.

The youth has been both a good thing and a bad thing.

“The things we’ve been harping on is to do the little things that make you successful,” Anderon

said. “Playing hard on defense has been the primary focus for us. When we have focus and effort, we’ve

been pretty hard to beat.

“Ben Sanders has come a long way, Charlie Duvall has come a long way. Zy Dennis is learning

more and more how to facilitate. We’re just learning more about ourselves every day.”

The Laurence Manning girls went 2-6 in region play. The Lady ‘Cats beat Hilton Head Christian

twice but lost each of their games against Wilson Hall, Trinity Collegiate and John Paul II.

Ard believes the Lady ‘Cats were hindered in their team development by the winter weather and

bouts of sickness.

“When we came out of Christmas we were really playing well,” Ard said. “Because of the snow

we were out and we had five different days where we didn’t get the practice time in. Then we had to

rearrange the schedule, and now it seems like the flu has hit.

“The three games over Christmas were really good games in the District 9 Officials

Tournament. We were playing together – our offense was together, our defense was together. We really

looked good. Then our shooting left us, and I felt like we haven’t been able to throw it in the ocean

since.”

Laurence Manning is led by the junior combo of Ashley Rae Hodge and Lyza Prickelmyer.

Hodge is the Lady ‘Cats’ leading scorer at 13.5 along with a 5.0 rebounding average, 4.0 assists and 3.0

steals.

Prickelmeyer leads the team in assists at 5.1 and shares the lead in steals with Hodge at 4.0. She’s

also scoring in double figures with a 10.5 average and is pulling down 5.6 rebounds.

“Those were the two we had back with experience,” Ard said of Hodge and Prickelmyer.

“They’ve tried to carry us the best that they can.”

The other starters are senior Laini Kosinski, senior Carol Ann Briggs and junior Lily Wellborn..

Kosinski leads Laurence Manning in rebounding with a 7.8 average while scoring at a 3.1 clip.

Briggs is averaging 4.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Wellborn, who moved into the starting lineup

later in the season, is averaging 3.1 points and 4.1 rebounds.

The remainder of the roster includes junior Maggie Welch, senior Olivia Danback, junior Ella

Grace Healon, junior Marlee Black, sophomore Sarah Margaret Ferriell and senior Jessica Griffith.