Eau Claire girls’ playoff run reaches semifinal round. Gray boys lose in OT thriller

Eau Claire girls basketball coach Ashley Gilmore wasn’t able to sleep well in the days leading up to her team’s third-round playoff game. Chances are, Gilmore will sleep well Tuesday night after her team’s performance.

The Shamrocks defeated Mid-Carolina, 54-43, in the third round of the Class 2A Upper State playoffs.

Eau Claire will play region foe Clinton at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Florence Center in the Upper State championship. The winner advances to the state title game.

It’s the Shamrocks’ first semifinal appearance since 2010. Eau Claire’s last state championship appearance came in 1998.

“The girls stated at the beginning of the year they wanted to go to Florence, and we are headed there next Tuesday,” Gilmore said. “It has been a long time coming. We have been building this since I got here seven years ago. We have finally arrived.”

As final seconds ticked off the clock Tuesday and Anyla Demas hit a layup, Gilmore raised her hands up in jubilation as students ran onto the floor in celebration.

Both Eau Claire and Mid-Carolina have been surprises during the postseason. Eau Claire finished second behind Clinton, while Mid-Carolina was third in Region 2-2A, whose teams made up the final four 2A Upper State playoffs.

Both Eau Claire and Mid-Carolina knocked off other region champions to get to the third round. Mid-Carolina defeated Saluda in the first round, while the Shamrocks defeated Blacksburg in the second round to force the third meeting Tuesday between the two clubs.

Eau Claire won both meetings with M-C during the regular season and used big games from seniors Destinee Tiller and Milaysha Chisholm in getting the season sweep. The duo is part of the team’s six seniors.

“The past two seasons, we went out in the first round. But we started out the season saying we are going to Florence,” Tiller said. “We are going now. But we’ve still got work to do.”

Tiller, the all-state guard, had 25 points, and Chisholm added 17 points. Tiller came up two big baskets in the fourth quarter as the Rebels mounted a comeback. Mid-Carolina trailed 41-30 going into the fourth quarter and cut the lead to six points twice in the final frame. But Tiller delivered both times, the second basket coming with 2:30 left to put the Shamrocks up 44-36.

“I just didn’t want to go home yet,” Tiller said.

Brea Boyd led Mid-Carolina with 12 points and Addie Bowers had nine before fouling out.

Gray Collegiate drops OT heartbreaker

The Gray Collegiate boys basketball team’s first season in Class 4A ended in the third round with a 66-56 overtime loss to North Augusta.

The Yellow Jackets advance to the 4A Lower State championship at 4:30 p.m. Monday against Wilson.

Gray was seconds away from earning a spot in the state semifinal. The War Eagles led 53-52 with 1.9 seconds after LJ Britt came up with a steal. After the steal, Gray’s Levi Ball was quickly fouled near the North Augusta student section.

According to eyewitnesses, some North Augusta students entered the court area, and a Gray player or two came off the bench to shield Ball. The War Eagles were then assessed a technical foul because of their player leaving the bench.

Ball hit one of his two free throws, then North Augusta’s DaRon Dunbar made both technical free throws to tie the game at 54 and send it to overtime.

In the overtime, Dunbar hit a three-point play to put the Yellow Jackets up 58-54 and then added another basket to make it 60-56. Dunbar finished with 20 points.

The War Eagles’ bench picked up technical fouls late in the overtime and one was assistant coach ejected. The Jackets added six free throws in the final minute and were 25-of-29 from the free-throw line in the game.

Britt led Gray with 18 points while Ball had 13 and Hunter McGraw had 10.

Westwood loses at North Myrtle Beach

Faith Farmer scored 23 points as North Myrtle Beach defeated Westwood, 53-42, in the third round of the Class 5A Division II playoffs.

NMB will play Berkeley in the Lower State championship at 3 p.m. Monday.

Nevaeh Washington and Madi Vereen each had 10 for NMB.

Fairfield Central’s run ends against Clinton

Clinton earned a spot in the 2A Upper State final with a 40-30 win over Fairfield Central.

The loss ended the Griffins’ postseason run, which included road wins over Cheraw and Strom Thurmond.

This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 10:27 PM.