Diamonds’ run ends in state semifinal
The Lower Richland girls basketball team ran out of steam at a most unfortunate time.
The Diamonds battled injuries and fatigue down the latter part of the season but still made a run to the Class 4A lower state championship, where they came up short Friday night in a 49-35 loss to Wilson at the Florence Civic Center.
“We have a very short rotation, and these kids have been playing a lot of minutes all season long,” LR first-year coach Keturah Jackson said. “(Keondra) Archie is playing on a twisted ankle and (Cailah) Hicklin is playing with a pulled hamstring, and I think fatigue set in for us. Not to take anything away from Wilson, they did a great job defensively against us.”
Lower Richland (17-9) came up short because of a dismal shooting performance in the second half and the strong play of Wilson post player D’Asia Gregg.
Trailing 24-21 at the half, the Diamonds shot 4-of-22 in the final two quarters. They had a scoreless drought of 6:40 and didn’t make a field goal for 7:16 to bridge the two quarters. They started the second half by making one of their first 14 shots.
“It was a combination of things,” Jackson said of the poor shooting. “They were playing great defense and brought double teams at our post players. They clogged up the post because they know that’s where we like to score from a lot.”
Combine that with the play of Gregg, who had 11 of her 14 points in the second half, and the game got away from Lower Richland. Gregg scored all six of Wilson’s points in a low-scoring third quarter that gave the Tigers a 30-25 lead. Gregg, a 6-3 junior who is a Georgia Tech commitment, scored five of the first six points of the fourth quarter for Wilson (21-6) to make it 37-29 with less than five minutes remaining.
“She’s a tough kid to defend, let alone trying to defend her with injuries,” Jackson said. “She’s a tall kid with ball skills. She’s a great player and caused a lot of trouble.”
Wilson coach Gerrin Harrison thought Gregg and seniors Shamiyah Barnes (a game-high 16 points) and Keturah Hunter were a huge difference from the first time the two teams met. Wilson won 42-40 in late January.
“Going into the fourth quarter, this was a game for the seniors. Hunter and Barnes made big contributions and kept them off the boards,” Harrison said. “Gregg’s been playing since the ninth grade and she’s had some tough moments, but she’s bought into the system and she’s going to be a special player at Georgia Tech.”
Hicklin was high scorer for Lower Richland with 13 points.
W – Shamiyah Barnes 16, D’Asia Gregg 14, McQueen 8, Hunter 5, Goodson 3, Washington 2, Baker 1. LR – Cailah Hicklin 13, Canty 9, Archie 6, Adams 3, Washington 2, Smith 2.
This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 10:53 PM with the headline "Diamonds’ run ends in state semifinal."