Return to
Home Page

Return to
Sports

E. Columbus girls sprint to 61-36 title-game victory

By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

LAKE WACCAMAW - Backcourt quickness was the big factor for the East Columbus Lady Gators Thursday as they defeated South Columbus 61-36 for the girls division championship of the ECHS Holiday Basketball Tournament.

It marks the second straight year that Coach Karlyn Stephens’ Lady Gators have taken the tournament title.

Shaquanna Bress again led SCHS scorers, tallying 17 points, followed by Jasmine Young with 15. T.T. Bennett and Tabitha Moore each scored 10 points as the Lady Gators put their season record at 6-7.

“We’ve played a very strong schedule so far,” Coach Stephens said. “We just tried to be patient and keep working at getting better.

“When we won the tournament last year, it gave us some extra confidence over the rest of the season,” she added. “Hopefully that will be the case this time.”

East Columbus took charge from the start and held a 34-14 halftime lead.

Yolanda McCoy was high scorer for South Columbus with 10 points. Amanda Dowe, the Lady Stallions’ standout sophomore center, was held to six points by the quick, aggressive play of the East Columbus,

The loss broke a two-game winning streak for Coach Brett Burroughs’ Lady Stallions, who now have a 3-6 record.

“We’ve played pretty well in our recent games, but tonight we weren’t able to get much established,” Burroughs said. “East Columbus has some very strong athletes in the backcourt and they can be tough to match up with.”

The two teams will meet again Tuesday at South Columbus.

Making the all-tournament team were Bress, Young, Dowe, Shay McEachern of South Robeson and Ebony Wright of Loris.

In Thursday’s third-place game, South Robeson defeated Loris 55-46.

S. Columbus	6	8	12	10	-	36
E. Columbus	16	18	11	16	-	61

South Columbus (36): Strickland 7, McCoy 10, Dowe 6, Williams 4, Shaw 5, Tisdale 6.

EAST COLUMBUS: Bress 17, Bennett 10, Young 15, Jacobs 7, Moore 10. Pollard 2.