No coach deserves state title more than Lake View's Inman

Lake View – You would have to live in a cave to not know the rich athletic tradition of winning that permeates through the athletic program at Lake View High School.

Lake View, a small Class A school in Dillon County, is synonymous with winning state championships in sports. Whether it be in football, baseball or softball, Lake View’s trophy case is stocked full of memorabilia from past successes.

However, up until Mar. 2nd, the girls basketball program had failed to put a state championship trophy on display. That all changed when the 2023-24 squad upended Denmark-Olar in the Class A state title matchup, securing the first girls basketball state championship in school history.

It’s not as if the girls basketball program could not win. Under coach Larry Inman, the program has been a perennial region powerhouse and has consistently been one of the top five teams in the Class A ranks. But there always was a stumbling block and in recent years, the powerhouse program at Military Magnet was in the way.

Entering this season, Military Magnet had won the last three Class A state titles and the last four Lower State championships, often at the expense of the Lake View program. Lake View would consistently win 20 or more games but always came up short in the pressure game against Military Magnet.

Inman talked early on this season about finding a way to get past Military Magnet. Lake View may have had a deeper team last season but the coach saw unlimited potential in his 2023-24 squad.

Seniors Jaleya Ford and Gwendasia Page were veterans who had been with Inman since the seventh-grade. Both are 1,000-point scorers and Page grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds as well.

Led by the two seniors, Lake View started the season on fire, took a few losses during a Christmas tournament, but closed with a flurry of wins.

The Lady Wild Gators breezed through the early rounds of the playoffs and survived a tussle from Carver’s Bay in the third round, winning 48-41. That set up yet another challenge against mighty Military Magnet for the Lower State championship.

This time, Lake View would not be denied. The Lady Gators rallied late to post a 50-46 upset win, reaching the Class A state championship game against Denmark-Olar High School.

In the championship game, Lake View jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first three minutes of game time. Denmark-Olar missed their first seven shots but found their mark to close the gap to 13-8 after one quarter. Lake View missed eight free throws in the opening period, which would be a story throughout the contest.

After two quarters of play, Lake View held on to a 21-18. Page was saddled with three fouls and the Vikings took advantage.

By the end of the third quarter, the game was back to square one, tied at 35. Eight minutes to play for all of the marbles.

Early in the fourth quarter, Denmark-Olar took a 37-35 lead but Ford quickly tied the score before Zy’Kiara Waters, a freshman, hit a layup for a 39-37 Lake View lead.

Back and forth the game went on. By the time the clock hit two minutes left, Lake View trailed, 45-41. Late in the game the free throw issue again reared its ugly head as Lake View missed four straight. But all was not lost.

Lake View continued to play terrific defense and forced a few turnovers. With 1:08 remaining, Lake View hit two free throws, to make it 45-43. After forcing a turnover, Ford tied the game with a minute left.

With :29 seconds left, Ford hit another basket for a 47-46 lead. Denmark-Olar had a final possession but was whistled for an offensive foul with only three ticks remaining. Page was fouled and calmly sank two free throws for a 49-46 win. Lake View was state champions in girls basketball!

Lake View finished the game making just seven-of-24 free throws but canned four crucial ones with the game on the line.

Ford finished with 21 points, five blocks and four steals. Page played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls and scored 14 points while grabbing eight rebounds.

As fans or parents, seeing the teenagers celebrate a state championship is pretty awesome. But, no one should forget coach Larry Inman. The man who lived with disappointment after disappointment. His biggest goal as a coach was to lead his alma mater to a state championship.

Inman never lost faith or hope in the program he was building. He knew if they could just keep working, a little luck would come their way.

“I think there’s gonna be a party when we get home,” Inman said in his post-game television interview. “This is such a great feeling. I guess a lot of people never thought it would happen but we did it! A complete team effort.”

Ford and Page finished their career as Class A all-state selections. Ford averaged 21.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.1 steals this season. Page averaged 13.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and a whopping 7.8 steals per game.

The freshman Waters averaged 11 points per game and junior Ta’Kirah Waters did solid work on the boards.

Senior Emma King averaged less than five points per game but she was a primary reason Lake View beat Military Magnet. King scored a season-high 14 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers in the Lower State title game.