Making history! Blythewood girls basketball to play for first state championship
Chase Thomas and India Williams remember some bleak times for the Blythewood girls basketball program.
The two were eighth-graders on the Bengals’ varsity team that went winless three years ago. Since then, they’ve been two of the catalysts of the program’s turnaround.
That was punctuated Saturday when the Bengals advanced to their first state championship game by defeating JL Mann, 64-59, in the Class 5A Division I Upper State finals at the Florence Center.
Blythewood will face Summerville at 6 p.m. Friday in the state championship game.
“When we were 0-19, I was like, ‘We are going to come here and change the program,’ ” said Williams, who scored 15 points. “There is no way a team should go 0-19 as high-schoolers.
“... The three of us, Chase and Hayley (Hightower) came in and changed this program around. It is an amazing feeling to be here.”
Williams had the game’s final basket, a layup in the closing seconds, as the Bengals’ bench erupted in celebration. After the game, the players doused second-year head coach Emily Schaeffer with water.
Moments later, Schaeffer emerged from the locker room and discussed the importance of Saturday’s victory and how far the program has come.
“Definitely a great day for the program. I am very proud of the girls, the way they fought,” Schaeffer said. “I am proud of the girls, what they are doing for the program and where it is headed.”
Prior to this season, the Bengals had won just two region titles and been to the state semifinals just once more than 15 years ago. Blythewood won the Region 5-5A championship this year, despite losing its regular-season finale, and put together four straight wins in the playoffs.
Both Williams and Thomas, who scored a team-high 22 points, said the program belonged on the big stage — and it showed especially early on. Blythewood led by as many as 17 points in the first half, thanks to strong outside shooting.
The Bengals hit eight of their 11 3-pointers in the first half and led 37-28 at halftime. The lead evaporated as the Patriots made a run and took their first lead, 47-46, with less than 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
Sharron Waters then banked a half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Blythewood a 49-47 lead. She finished with 11 points.
“We talk about adversity, day in and day out at practice. That was a test for us there (in the third quarter),” Schaeffer said. “Everything is not going to go our way all the time. Mentally, we’ve got to be able to handle it and we did right there.”
The Bengals never lost the lead in the fourth quarter, but there were some tense moments. Thomas went to the bench in the quarter after picking up her fourth foul.
Then, Blythewood missed a few free throws down the stretch to give JL Mann a chance. The Patriots cut the lead to 61-59 on Annie Gillam’s basket with less than a minute left.
Thomas hit one of two free throws with 44 seconds left, and JL Mann missed a couple of shots on its final possession. Jade Hailstock led JL Mann with 24 points.
This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 6:30 PM.
