Panthers look for stronger finish

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Lake City — Perry Stokes begins his second season as the head varsity and junior varsity girls’ basketball coach at The Carolina Academy, and with a group of 8 th and 9 th graders his team came out of the holiday break at 2-6. “Last year we had only five players, and they were all seniors, so this year things sort of went in reverse and we have players up from the junior varsity last year and we have 10 8 th and 9 th graders playing this season,” said Coach Stokes who has over 750 career wins and two state titles on his resume from other schools. “I tried to talk some juniors and seniors into playing this season but they decided not to.” Carolina Academy’s two wins came over Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach 33-25 and 34-21. In the first win freshman small forward Ella Ham and freshman shooting guard Emma Amos leading the way with 13 and 12 points respectively. In the second win Amos was the top scorer with 10 points and 8 th grade point guard Natalie Braveboy contributed 8 points. “We have played a really tough schedule and I think we will be very competitive with our region play starting this week,” said Coach Stokes. “We participated in the Pee Dee Invitational at Pee Dee Academy and we only lost by one point to Lake View and we could have won that game. Lake View is the defending Class A champions in South Carolina. “We have played teams like Pee Dee Academy , Florence Christian, Aynor and Wilson Hall so we have played a tough early season schedule,” said Coach Stokes. “The strength of our team is how well we play defense. We might be in a lot of low scoring games once region play starts but I feel like we will be competitive.” The silver lining for the lady Bobcats program is that participation is up. “We have a total of 23 players in grades six through 9 in our program and not one sophomore, junior, or senior is playing basketball,” said Coach Stokes. “These players are all working hard and the program should be really good in a year or two if these players stick with it.” The other two starters are freshman small forward Lauren Sims , a defensive specialist averaging two points a game. Paisley McCutcheon is an 8 th grader starting at a shooting guard and she is averaging 4.4 points a game. Amos leads the team in scoring at seven points a game while Braveboy and Ham are each averaging g six points. Ham is averaging five rebounds a game also. The first two players off the bench are usually freshman guard Abby Walker and 8 th grade forward Kaylie Lyerly . Ronding out the roster are 8 th grade guard Ki Ki Hanna , 9 th grade guard Kate Turner , and 9 th grade guard Katherine Holliday . On Jan. 7 th Carolina Academy will start region play at Kings Academy and then two days later they travel to Williamsburg Academy . On the next day (Friday) they host Lee Academy in a region game.  Coach Stokes is assisted by son Heath Stokes who has been with him for over 20 years. He is also thankful to have the help from Ruby Amos who is a student at USC Sumter.

Porter Gaud senior RB Tony Brown came into the finals having rushed for 1,339 yards and 17 touchdowns

ZJ Jenkins takes a shot for Summerville Dec. 30 during the Roundball Classic showcase.

St. John's Christian junior guard Reagan Ashby.

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR GOOSE CREEK – Stratford High School’s girls basketball team recorded its sixth win of the 2024-25 season – two more than all of 2023-24 – with an 80-49 rout of visiting Colleton County Friday, Jan. 3, at Stratford. “They played well,” Knights coach Camille Toliver said. “That’s what we’ve been preaching, to play our ball no matter the opponent, no matter the score. We lock in. We score. We swing the ball around. We rebound the basketball. We get putbacks. We trust what we practice.” Stratford (6-8) tallied 18 points in the opening quarter, then erupted for 34 more in the second stanza to grab a 52-26 halftime lead. This season, the Knights return region player of the year Ciara Mustapher and fellow all-region selection Sydnie Stepney . Mustapher leads in scoring and assists, while Stepney is tops on the team in rebounds, steals and blocks. Both players are senior captains.  “They drive what we have, Ciara offensively and Sydnie defensively,” Toliver said. “Those are two girls who work really hard. They’re leaders. Any time the gym is open, they’re in here working.” Mustapher averages more than 20 points per game this winter. She’s been a varsity player since her freshman year. “She’s one of the most loyal players to come through this program,” Toliver said. “She played all the way through the bumps and bruises before our state run a couple years ago. She decided she wanted to be a Knight. She stayed a Knight. In this day and age, it’s so easy to go somewhere else. It’s amazing of her to stay at the school she’s at, have pride in her program, to work hard and push her teammates.” Stepney stacks numbers of rebounds, steals and blocks. She has a knack for making plays around the basket. “She realized last year her thing was defense, getting steals, getting blocks and getting rebounds,” Toliver said. “She plays level-headed. She communicates well down low and lets her teammates know what is going on. She stays composed and goes after the ball. She has great instinct on the basketball, reading passes and seeing passes.” More contributors are freshman Averi Johnson , junior captain Harleigh Mosley , sophomore Jadeyn Wright , senior Raniyah McKune and senior Zay Brown. Stratford is at Summerville (12-1) Tuesday, Jan. 7, in a non-region game before opening the Region 7-5A slate at home Friday, Jan. 10, against Wando High School (13-1). The Knights then host Lucy Beckham (4-5) Tuesday, Jan. 14, and travel to Cane Bay (3-10) Friday, Jan. 17, and Berkeley (10-3) Tuesday, Jan. 21. Stratford caps the first rotation through league play at home versus rival Goose Creek (5-6) Friday, Jan. 24.

Gray senior Quan McDuffie , who averages 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Hanahan's sophomore guard Bri Johnsen.

Senior Dutch Fork RB Maurice Anderson

Chapin's senior QB Brady Albro.