Dillon Christian girls basketball team looking for AAA state tournament bid

Dillon – Dillon Christian School girls basketball head coach Kelly McColl didn’t know what to

expect from her team this season.

The Warriors lost five players, including two key starters, from last year’s SCISA AA state

playoff team. Also, DCS moved up from AA to AAA this year because of reclassification.

All things considered, McColl thinks it’s been a pretty good transition. Dillon Christian was 7-16

overall prior to the region tournament and split its eight Region 3 games.

“We started off our season slow, having to learn each other all over again,” said McColl, who is in

her third year as head coach. “They have improved greatly over the season and it has been fun to

watch. We moved up to AAA this season so we knew the competition would be tougher, but they have

proved they can compete with them. Offensively and defensively, they have grown and are working

more collectively as a team than in past seasons.”

The Warriors are waiting to see who and where they’re playing in the state tournament set to

begin on February 14-15.

DCS’ three returning starters are Lily King, Chloe Powell and Braylin Carter. The newcomers

to the lineup are Molly Andrews and Shelby Dial. Carter leads in scoring with a 12.6 per-game average

and is also the leading rebounder. King is a sophomore point guard who leads in assists and is averaging

7.5 points. McColl calls her the team’s best shooter.

Powell, a senior, is averaging 5.4 points while Dial is averaging 2.9 and Andrews 1.68.

Key reserves are eighth-graders Alyana Locklear and Finley Britt and sophomore Lila English.

McColl, who is assisted by Bridget Elvington and Sidney Harrelson, said the Warriors need to

be focused from the beginning.

“Staying in control under pressure and making smart decisions on the floor is a key,” she said.

“Also, they finally have started to understand that if they play all-out defense, they can stop almost any

team offensively. We are for sure a fourth-quarter team, and if they would lock in early and play with the

same intensity the whole game, a lot of our games would have had different outcomes.”

DCS BOYS GO 11-14

The Dillon Christian boys basketball team is awaiting its fate as well. The Warriors were 11-14

overall and finished 3-5 in the region.

“Our record this season has not been as good as we had hoped,” said head coach Bo Stone. “We

played a really tough early-season schedule to prepare us for region play, but injuries have really hurt us

this year.”

Senior point guard Thompson Stone has been sidelined twice with high ankle sprains. He was

averaging 20.7 points to go with 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 steals and 4.7 assists.

Coach Stone does see a benefit from his son’s injury.

“These injuries have allowed for great experience for our four freshmen and will set us up well

for the future,” he said.

Fellow senior Jackson Outlar is the leading scorer and rebounder at 20.3 and 7.3, respectively.

He averages 3.1 assists and 2.9 steals.