First half haunts Westwood girls in semifinal loss to South Pointe
The South Pointe girls took the rubber match of this season against Westwood and are headed to their first state championship appearance.
The Stallions used a 25-6 run in final six minutes of the second quarter and defeated the Redhawks, 57-41 to win the Class 4A Upper State championship on Friday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
South Pointe will play two-time defending state champion North Augusta for the state championship March 2 at Colonial Life Arena.
“They just outplayed us, just their effort was at a whole different level,” Westwood coach Gregory Bauldrick said. “Some nerves there I didn’t expect and thought we learned our lesson from last year. It was just poor execution, turning the ball over and couldn’t get in our offensive set. We were totally uncomfortable and never recovered.”
It was the third matchup this season between the Region 3-4A foes with each team winning on its home floor. But this one wasn’t close after South Pointe’s big second quarter.
With the score tied at 17-17 in the second quarter, the Stallions went on an 18-2 run in three-plus minutes to lead 35-19. The first half was similar to Westwood’s first state semifinal trip last season against North Augusta in which they fell behind big and couldn’t recover.
The closest Westwood got in the second half was 13 points.
“We had solid practices all week and were just determined,” Stallion coach Stephanie Butler-Graham said. “It wasn’t just one person. And we just handled the pressure. I’m just proud of my kids.”
Scarlett Gilmore led three South Pointe players in double figures with 17 points. Randi Neal had 13 and Jamia Blake 12.
Unique Drake led Westwood with 16 points and Malayziah Etheredge had 12. Drake was part of the senior trio with Maliyah Lockett and Essence Marshall that played a role in the team’s success the past three years.
Westwood finishes the year at 24-6 and has 47 victories over the past two seasons, most in school history during that stretch.
“It has been tremendous, sure disappointed at this point now. But this senior class has done things that will take a long time for a core group to come in and be as special as them.”
W: Malayziah Etheredge 12, Marshall 3, Unique Drake 16, Lockett 3, Frederick 2, Leveretter 4. SP: Adams 5. Randi Neal 13, Jamia Blake 12, Scarlett Gilmore 17, Lane 6, Jamison 2.
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 9:10 PM.
