Pee Dee girls basketball team has strong finish to season

           Mullins – The Pee Dee Academy girls basketball team owned an 11-9 record entering its final game of the regular against Florence Christian School.

          The Golden Eagles defeated FCS 35-21 before beating Carolina Academy and Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach to win the SCISA Region 2-AAA tournament.

         That was enough to earn them a No. 3 seed in the state tournament and they opened with a 36-15 win over Greenwood Christian School. The winning streak and the season came to an end in a 52-48 quarterfinal-round loss to Palmetto Christian Academy. However, what was a mediocre record turned into a pretty spiffy 15-10 mark.

        “As a whole, we had a decent season,” said PDA head coach Meagan Thomas. ”We ended up second in the region, but tournament champions. We also made it to the second round of the playoffs. It is always a goal for us to make it to the playoffs, and we succeeded with that goal.

        “We had a tough schedule this year. We played some teams that we don't normally play. While I didn't expect as many losses as we had, I know the challenges made us better.”

        Leading Pee Dee was All-Region performers Claire Eskridge, Lizzie McCaskill and Rebecca Hammond, who was the Most Valuable Player for the region tournament. She was joined on the All-Tournament team by McCaskill.

       Hammond led the Eagles in scoring with an average of 12.0 points per game. She also had 128 rebounds and 67 steals. McCaskill averaged 11.0 points while pulling down 110 rebounds and picking up 99 steals.

Thomas said Pee Dee got most of its offense from its defense.

           “Our defense is our best strength,” she said. “We struggled to shoot the ball and score. We have to play hard-nosed defense and let that result in scoring.:

The Eagles are losing just one senior in McCaskill.

           “While she will be some big shoes to fill, we still have the rest of our team returning,” Thomas said. “I feel like we will still be a strong team next year.”

PEE DEE BOYS FINISH 14-8

          The Pee Dee boys basketball tam finished with a 14-8 record. The Eagles advanced to the state tournament, losing to Greenwood Christian 62-49 in the first round.

          Colby Richardson, Hughes Elvington and Miles Trussell were All-Region selections. Richardson, who was also selected to the All-Region Tournament team and to play in the North-South All-Star Game, led in scoring and rebounding at 17.7 and 7.1, respectively. He also had 2.3 steals and 1.5 assists.

         Elvington averaged 8.6 points, 2.4 assists and 2.2 steals, while Trussell averaged 7.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals.