Balanced attack has Spring Valley girls one win away from second straight title
With four college signees and a veteran roster, the Spring Valley girls’ basketball team has plenty of options to go to on a given night.
That’s definitely helped as the Vikings attempt to repeat as state champions. Spring Valley earned the opportunity with a 58-40 win over Sumter in the Class 5A Upper State championship Saturday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Spring Valley plays Goose Creek in the 5A title game Friday at Colonial Life Arena. The Vikings defeated GC in the state semifinals last year.
The Vikings had four players in double figures, led by Destiny Coleman with 17. Lauryn Taylor added 13 while Taylor Britt and Ashley Williamson each had 10.
“We still haven’t had a game where all of us are on fire scoring and I’m really waiting for that game to happen. I really hope that happens at state,” said Coleman who is signed with Wingate. “If that happens, we will be an unstoppable scoring team.”
The Vikings have had a different leading scorer in three of their four playoff games. It was the second time Coleman did it in the playoffs. She had 28 in the playoff opener against Byrnes.
Coleman, who is known for her last-second shots in quarters, hit a 3-pointer to end the first and give Spring Valley a 13-7 lead. The Vikings followed that up by outscoring the Gamecocks 22-11 in the second quarter on their way to their third win over Sumter this season.
Spring Valley defeated Sumter 80-43 less than three weeks ago and hasn’t lost to a Class 5A in-state opponent since 2016.
“We are very excited. This was a goal at the start of the season,” Spring Valley coach Megan Assey said. “To go out and be back at the Colonial Life Arena next weekend is what we set out to do.”
But Assey hasn’t made it easy on her team. She scheduled a challenging nonregion schedule with games against 4A title participants North Augusta and South Pointe as well as a tournament in Myrtle Beach.
“We set the bar high because we want to be back,” Assey said. “We have held them accountable and they push each other in practice. And they worked hard to be back.”
CeCe Wells led Sumter with 15 points. The Gamecocks finished the season at 24-4 with three of the losses to Spring Valley.
S: Cain 5, Crosley 7, CeCe Wells 15, Brown 8, Cox 7. SV: Destiny Coleman 17, Lauryn Taylor 13, Lewis 5, Wiley 3, Taylor Britt 10, Ashley Williamson 10.
This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 7:28 PM.
