Playoff Roundup: Young Westwood girls squad advances, Dutch Fork survives upset bid
This is one of the youngest teams Gregory Bauldrick has had since taking over the Westwood girls basketball team.
The young Redhawks took a big step forward Thursday night in knocking off No. 3 seed White Knoll, 71-69, in the second round of the Class 5A Division II Lower State playoffs.
Westwood will travel to North Myrtle Beach on Tuesday for a third round game.
“We struggled and haven’t been able to put together a complete game for most of the season,” Bauldrick said. “I always felt we were a much better team than if someone would just look at our record. Late in region play, we started to put full games together and now it is playoff season and we are putting together complete games. We are pretty excited about the future of our young team.”
The Redhawks played for a state championship two years ago and have been building to get the program back to that level. Westwood went 11-14 during the regular season and played in a tough region with the likes of Ridge View, Blythewood and Spring Valley.
But Westwood won’t have to deal with those teams as they are in the 5A Division I bracket. The Redhawks are building a strong nucleus with seventh-grader Amari Alexander, freshman Lyric Rogers and sophomore Aneya Britt at the center of it.
The trio combined for 57 of the team’s 71 points. Rogers led the way with 21 points with Britt adding 20 before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter Alexander had 16.
Westwood needed that production to survive the Timberwolves’ comeback attempt.
The Redhawks led by more than 10 points in the third quarter before the Timberwolves rallied behind Emory Inman-Waters and Shaelyn Hayes, who was honored for scoring her 1,000th career point.
Hayes’ two free throws pulled WK within 69-66 with 38 seconds and Inman-Waters followed with a basket to cut it to 69-68 before Rogers’ layup made it 71-68.
After White Knoll missed two free throws, Valentina Paniagua hit a free throw to close it to 71-69 with two seconds left. But Westwood was able to inbound the ball and run the clock out.
“I could tell the young kids were getting a little tight and we knew they were going to make a run,” Bauldrick said. “We got a little rattled at times but it was a teaching moment. … It was sink or swim tonight and I am glad we swam.”
Hayes led WK with 20 points and Waters-Inman had 17. WK finishes at 17-9, the most wins in more than a decade for the program.
Girls Playoffs Scores
Dutch Fork 67, Dorman 63: Michaela Fairwell scored 32 points and went over 1,500 points in her career as the top-seeded Silver Foxes moved on in the 5A Division I Upper State playoffs.
Dutch Fork hosts JL Mann on Monday.
The Silver Foxes used a 23-9 run to end the third quarter and take a 52-44 lead.
Dutch Fork led 60-59 in the fourth and Trinity Crumlin’s blocked shot helped preserve the lead. Fairwell hit big free throws to close it out.
Morgan White led Dorman with 20 points.
Blythewood 63, Byrnes 49: The second-seeded Bengals moved on in the 5A Division I Upper State playoffs. Blythewood will host Friday’s Clover-Rock Hill winner on Monday.
Chase Thomas finished with 21 points for Blythewood. India Williams had 14. Sherron Waters and Daniella Bosmans each had 10.
Ridge View 55, Wando 45: The Blazers advanced in the 5A Division I Lower State playoffs with a road win. Ridge View will go to Ashley Ridge on Monday.
JL Mann 72, Lexington 56: The Wildcats lost on the road in the second round of 5A Division I Upper State playoffs.
Summerville 60, Spring Valley 50: The Vikings’ season ended on the road at Summerville.
North Myrtle Beach 49, Chapin 35: The Eagles lost at NMB in the second round of 5A Division II playoffs.
Newberry 51, Marlboro County 45: Jasmin Robinson scored 19 points as the Bulldogs moved on in the 3A Upper State playoffs.
Daizee Williams added 12 points.
Eau Claire 45, Blacksburg 37: The Shamrocks upset top-seeded Blacksburg in the second round of the 2A Upper State playoffs. EC will host Mid-Carolina in the third round on Saturday.
Mid-Carolina 56, Chesterfield 48: The Rebels won their second straight 2A Upper State road playoff game.
Brea Boyd scored 14, Katie Gallman had 12 and Brayden Brooks 11.
Fairfield Central 75, Cheraw 59: The Griffins won their second straight road playoff game and advanced to the third round of the 2A Upper State playoffs.
FC will travel to Clinton on Saturday.
Boys Playoff Scores
Gray Collegiate 78, May River 50: The War Eagles move on in the 4A playoffs and will play North Augusta in the next round for the third time this season.
Gray split the two games with NA this season.
LJ Britt led Gray with 17 points while Quan McDuffie and Levi Ball each had 15.
Keenan 64, Dillon 46: Class 3A Player of Year Brian Sumpter scored 17 points and Antoine Caughman had 15 as the Raiders moved on in the 3A playoffs.
Keenan will go to Oceanside Collegiate on Monday.
Nyheim McNeil added 10 points for Keenan.
Crestwood 82, Brookland-Cayce 75 (OT): The Bearcats’ season came to an end for the second straight year at Crestwood.
B-C trailed by as many 17 points in the first half before rallying and had a 72-69 lead with less than a minute left. With the score tied at 72 in regulation, BC had the ball for last shot but turned it over.
The Knights finished the game on 8-2 run over the final 1:23 to win it.
Lancaster 73 AC Flora 58: Jordan Watford scored 22 points and Columbus Parker had 17 as the Bruins defeated the Falcons in the 4A playoffs.
Greer 56, Dreher 46: The Blue Devils couldn’t get their second straight road win as they lost in the second round of 4A playoffs.
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 9:51 PM.
