Scott's Branch girls in battle for second in Region 5-Class A

     Summerton – The Scott’s Branch High School girls basketball went into last weekend tied for first place in Region 5-Class A. That didn’t turn out so well as it lost to defending state champion Military Magnet 78-10 on Friday and 46-43 to Baptist Hill on Saturday.

         While now 9-9 overall and 3-2 in region play, the Eagles aren’t out of the hunt for second place and a home game in the first round of the state playoffs that comes with it. However, it is a crowded battle for that spot.

         Bethune-Bowman is 3-1 while St. John’s and Cross are 3-2 along with the Branch and Baptist Hill is 2-3. Scott’s Branch closes with three home games against Bethune-Bowman, Cross and Lowcountry Leadership.

         Eagles head coach Lucinda Stukes said her team’s destiny is still in their hands.

“We’ve had some great moments, but there are things we need to change,” Stukes said. “The good news is that we control how we finish this season. These next three games are crucial, and we must replicate the intensity from our early wins. Let’s concentrate on the details, execute our game plan flawlessly, and play with the same edge we know we can play with.”

Eighth-grader Trayiona Maxfield leads the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game to go with 4.3 rebounds. Senior Siara Lundy was averaging 10.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals. Junior Saniya House was averaging 4.8 points and 5.0 rebounds, and senior Janiah Gibson led in rebounding at 6.2 to go with 3.3 points. Senior Aniya Brown was averaging 4.4 points.

SCOTT’S BRANCH BOYS 1-6 IN REGION PLAY

Just two years removed form having played in four straight lass A state championshi0 games, the Scott’s Branch boys are struggling. They are 5-14 overall and 1-5 in region play.

“Being 1-5 at this point of the season is not so much disappointing, but finding stability and confidence to build on is probably the biggest struggle,” said Eagles head coach Kevin Miller. “We have a lot of key components, however those components need to be activated as soon as possible not solely by the coach but something in themselves.”

Points have been hard to come by as the Eagles have just one double-figure scorer. That is senior Nigel Lawson with an 11.4 average. Sophomore Nyren Bowman is averaging 7.1 points, senior Randy Williams is averaging 7.0 points and senior Trayvon Bannister is averaging 6.3 points.