Ridge View girls lost but want back in to SC basketball playoffs. Is it possible?
The Ashley Ridge girls basketball team is fighting to stay in the state playoffs and will make its case Thursday regarding a player eligibility issue.
There appears to be two possible outcomes: They win their case before the South Carolina High School League’s executive committee and stay in. Or they lose, and Summerville advances to next week’s state championship without facing an opponent in the Lower State finals.
But Ridge View High School wants a third option to be considered: Let the Blazers back into the playoffs if the Ashley Ridge appeal is denied.
Ashley Ridge, the top-ranked girls team in Class 5A Division I, defeated Ridge View, 64-60, on Monday in four overtimes to advance in the postseason. Ashley Ridge was scheduled to play Summerville in the Lower State championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday in Florence.
But the S.C. High School League ruled Tuesday that Ashley Ridge had been disqualified from the postseason because of the use of an ineligible player. Ashley Ridge principal Brook Matthews sent out an email that WCSC-TV shared on social media, stating that the school district was notified through an anonymous tip regarding the eligibility of one of the Ashley Ridge players.
“Following a thorough investigation, the SCHSL has determined that the player in question is ineligible,” Matthews wrote in the email.
Ashley Ridge will make its appeal before the executive committee at 9 a.m. Thursday. If they lose, they could appeal one final time to the league’s appellate panel.
If the program’s appeals are denied, Ridge View is hoping they can replace Ashley Ridge in the Lower State championship game. The Blazers’ case will center around an interpretation of the SCHSL by-laws regarding a situation like this.
Article V, Section III, Letter C of the SCHSL’s by-laws say that, “Other than the first round and semifinals, if the team with an ineligible player won the last elimination game prior to the time declared ineligible, the game shall not count, the position is vacated and the opposing team in the next round will receive a bye.”
Under that, Summerville would advance to the state championship on March 8 to face the winner of the Upper State finals between JL Mann and Blythewood.
Ridge View is expected to argue that its game against Ashley Ridge was a semifinal game. That’s true in that it was a semifinal game within the Lower State grouping of Class 5A Division I, though it’s technically a quarterfinals game in the overall view of the playoff bracket.
“It is unfortunate the situation we are in. It was a great game Monday night and brought out all the best in high school sports ... and Ashley Ridge beat us on the scoreboard,” Ridge View athletic director Brian Rosefield told The State on Wednesday. “But if they had a player that is ruled ineligible, we feel we should have the ability to move on and play Summerville.
“I am aware of the by-laws and talked to commissioner (Jerome) Singleton about the by rule. ... Through that conversation, I feel there is a technicality because of the wording of the by-law. It says a semifinal and what we played Ashley Ridge in is a lower state semifinal. The interpretation of the league is that is a state semifinal but that isn’t the wording. That is how we view it and we want to be able to have our shot.”
Thursday’s appeal is specific to Ashley Ridge, meaning Ridge View is counting on the SCHSL executive committee to allow the Blazers to speak at the hearing and make its own case.
This isn’t the first time a ruling like this has happened recently in the SCHSL playoffs.
In May, the SCHSL executive committee denied Summerville’s appeal to overturn a forfeiture that would have allowed the Green Wave baseball team to make the championship series. That case involved a pitch-count violation in a game against Ashley Ridge, who was allowed to advance to the state championship series against Lexington.
In 2023, Airport baseball was disqualified from the Class 4A playoffs because of an “inadvertent” rules violation, the day the state playoffs were to begin. Airport never got an appeal and playoffs started on time with teams in the region moved up and Midland Valley was allowed into the playoffs.
This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 12:36 PM.
