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MURRELLS INLET — The St. James girls basketball team has set several school records this season.
They’ve won their first Region VIII-AAA title and had their first 20-win season.
The Sharks added to that impressive resume Monday evening by winning their first playoff game, beating Cane Bay 48-22.
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“I hope it is going to benefit us,” coach Stan Patterson said of the win. “The first playoff win in school history, so that’s a big step in the right direction.”
St. James was in a dogfight in the first quarter.
“I thought we came out a little flat,” coach Stan Patterson said. “We weren’t really ready to play for a playoff game. Our defensive intensity picked up in the second half and was able to get easy baskets off their turnovers.”
The Sharks (21-4) jumped out to an early five-point lead halfway through the first quarter after a Stephanie Roberts score. However, the Cobras fought back and claimed the lead for the first and only time with .7 seconds left in the quarter when Ashlee Eady, who led Cane Bay with six points, scored two straight buckets.
The St. James defense clamped down in the second quarter and was able to gain the lead to start the quarter on a Keyana Rutledge layup. St. James quickly pushed that lead to 11 points.
The Sharks began to dominate the offensive glass in the second quarter, which proved to be a key the rest of the way. Twenty-five of the Sharks’ 42 rebounds came on the offensive end.
“We came in at halftime and tried to focus on getting rebounds,” Patterson said. “I thought we didn’t do a really good job of that in the first half.”
Monica Smalls led St. James with 12 rebounds, Stephanie Roberts added 10 and Rutledge had eight.
“We knew coming in they were big inside,” Cane Bay coach Greg Hall said. “Roberts and Smalls they just clean up the glass. We knew the only way to stay in the game was to keep the rebounding close.”
The Sharks held Cane Bay to seven second-half points.
“They wore us down,” Hall said. “We knew we had to attack them on offense. We figured if we ran it would help us because they were bigger than us. After the second quarter, they kept us out of the running game and turned us into a halfcourt team. We are not a halfcourt team.”
Roberts led the Sharks with 15 points and also added seven steals. Rutledge added 12 points, Smalls added nine and Briahna Dickerson had seven.
• CANE BAY (22) – Makayla Dudley 5, Tierra Fisher 5, Kabreea Howell 2, Lindsay Manning 4, Ashlee Eady 6
• ST. JAMES (48) – Stephanie Roberts 15, Keyana Rutledge 12, Briahna Dickerson 7, Eldreonna Hannah 5, Monica Smalls 9
| Cane Bay | 13 | 2 | 4 | 3 | – | 22 |
| St. James | 12 | 14 | 9 | 13 | – | 48 |
• 3-point goals: Cane Bay 1 (Dudley); St. James 1 (Hannah). Team fouls: Cane Bay 11, St. James 11. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
• Records: St. James 21-4
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