Scott's Branch girls crush Charleston M&S; boys advance past Baptist Hill

SUMMERTON -- Regardless of what happens over the next few weeks, the Scott's Branch High School varsity girls basketball team isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The Lady Eagles kicked off their 1A state title defense by annihilating Charleston Math & Science 72-29 in the second round of the state playoffs on Friday at Jones Gymnasium.

The game wasn't as close as the final score would indicate.

Perhaps the most sobering fact for their fellow 1A opponents is the Lady Eagles showed that their future is just as bright as their present with several underclassmen overpowering a talented Charleston Math & Science team.

Seventh-grader Key'Nyreia Butler was a revelation, scoring six points and showing absolutely no signs that the bright lights of the state playoffs were too much for her at such a young age. Sophomore Keonna Felder added eight points and played excellent defense throughout, while 1A Player of the Year, junior Cambria Parker, notched nine points and what had to be just as many perfectly-placed passes to set up her teammates for easy baskets. Freshman Rosandra Bennett also added eight points.

"Key is a seventh-grader, and we brought her up to play varsity for the playoffs," said Scott's Branch head coach Lucinda Stukes. "That's going to be a big help for us with our three seniors leaving, and thank God they have left something behind. They left a legacy, a culture of winning. They (the underclassmen) look up to our seniors, so our seniors did a good job of bringing them along."

Of course, it's the seniors that have helped Scott's Branch get so far, winning last year's state championship and leading their team to an undefeated run in Region V this season.

They didn't disappoint either.

Senior Jazlynn Bowman led the Lady Eagles with 20 points, while senior Teja Madison added 12.

"I think they came out ready to play and wanting to advance to the third round," said Stukes. "I think they played hard and played tough."

Scott's Branch jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead in the early going after a basket by Parker. They then used a 13-3 run to open the second quarter, extending their advantage to 25-7. Charleston Math & Science cut the lead to 28-14 at the half, but Scott's Branch exploded for 25 points in the third quarter to put the game away.

The Lady Eagles' defensive pressure from their deep well of guards never relented. They ended the game on a 10-0 run with five consecutive steals resulting in layups in the final 2:05.

"At guard, we have three seniors and one junior in Parker and we could've easily had three kids make All-State," Stukes said.

Next up for Scott's Branch is Baptist Hill. The Lady Eagles will host Baptist Hill in the third round of the playoffs on Monday. If they're able to win that one, they'll face either Lake View or Military Magnet in Florence Center for a shot at advancing to back-to-back title games.

"We haven't seen a lot of film on Baptist Hill just yet," said Stukes. "I know they do press a lot, so we'll be gathering that film up on them shortly."

The Lady Bobcats beat Green Sea-Floyds 45-40 on Friday.

The Scott's Branch varsity boys basketball team also advanced to the third round of the 1A playoffs, beating Baptist Hill 62-53.

The Eagles trailed for much of the first half before taking a 29-26 lead late in the second quarter when Zakee Rendell scored and made a free throw attempt after getting fouled.

Scott's Branch outscored Baptist Hill 18-12 in the third quarter, stretching their lead to as high as 14 points when Rendell connected on a three-point attempt with 1:20 remaining in the quarter.

"We came out a little sluggish," said Scott's Branch head coach Stephen Nelson. "I called timeout and told the boys we're not playing like we do normally. I wanted to extend them out and make them play defense, and stop them from outrebounding us."

The Bobcats battled back, however, cutting the lead to just six with 4:04 left in the game. The Eagles managed to hold off the charge by connecting on nine free throws in the final minutes.

Rendell finished with nine points, while freshman Randy Gibson led the team with 17. Antavious Stukes added 15 points and Tariq Coard scored nine.

Scott's Branch will host either Lake View or Military Magnet on Tuesday.