Palmetto Christian Academy girls’ basketball making strides

By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSR

Mt. Pleasant – Palmetto Christian Academy head coach Raygon Hendrix Jordan knew she had a solid squad but depth could pose a problem for her seven-girl team as the season progressed, but those seven young ladies formed a cohesive team to put together a 16-7/4-2 season and their first trip to the SCISA AAA final four.

Unfortunately, that is where their season ended at the hands of six-time state champion Hilton Head Christian Academy 64-39. Along the way to the semifinal appearance, they had seven games and a four-game winning streak during the year.

“We knew it would be a possibility to run into HHCA in the final four and knew it would be hard to overcome them. They have really good players and are very well trained, said coach Jordan.

Despite the loss coach Jordan was excited for the year the Lady Eagles put together. “We had a much better season than anyone anticipated other than myself. I knew how hard that girls had worked in the off season and during the year, so I had a lot of confidence when the season started. I am immensely proud of them and excited to see where we are headed as a program,” said coach Jordan.

The Lady Eagles are led by one of the top players in SCISA in junior wing player Cokey Suddeth. She led the team in scoring (24.4 pg), rebounding (11.4 pg), steals (2.9 pg) and blocks (1.9 pg). While those are gaudy numbers for sure, it is the way she looks for her teammates and gets them involved in the game.

“Cokey has really grown as a teammate this year. She loves to celebrate her teammates and join in on their success. That has made us a better team. As her coach, I could not ask for more,” Coach Jordan said.

The team’s other junior Scotty Wrenn led the team in assists at 2.4 per game. She is also a leader on the team.

Sophomores Avery Clark, Josie Hurley and Alden Baugh all played solid minutes and improved throughout the year. Clark averaged over six points and seven rebounds a game.

Freshmen Adelaide Suddeth, and Audrey Bright showed that the future is bright for the Lady Eagles as they averaged over fourteen points per game between them and Suddeth pulled down 8.3 boards a game with half of them being on the offensive end.

“I am very thankful to have the opportunity to coach these girls. We have everyone coming back next season and of course we are hoping to add some more to our squad. We are excited to rise to the level of 4A SCISA and looking forward to seeing how we can shake some things up next year,” said coach Jordan.