Newberry HS vs Saluda HS

In what overall turned out to be a well-played game in the outskirts of the CSRA, Saluda did battle on Wednesday night vs. Newberry in a contest that saw the Tigers earn a 55-43 victory over the visiting Bulldogs. The closing scores of the first and second quarters appeared to predict a rout for Saluda but Newberry rallied to nearly make it a game with the gap in the single digits in what was a foul-filled, free throw-filled fourth quarter. Prep Girls Hoops was on hand at Saluda High School to take in the action. Here is a look at who stood out from Tuesday night’s game. <strong>Titiana Garrison – 2021 – Newberry High School</strong> – In the game’s opening frame, Newberry was cold from the field. So cold as a matter of fact that the Bulldogs did not convert a single shot from the field in the first quarter. Garrison not only converted Newberry’s first basket from the field (which came with under seven minutes to play in the second quarter), she was the spark plug that allowed Newberry to claw its way back into the game in the early portions of the second quarter. She is an effective ball handler with speed that allows her to get out in transition. Garrison will also make tough shots against multiple defenders and will play lockdown defense. She finished her evening with 12 points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171749" first="Kalisha" last="Hill"] – 2021 – Saluda High School</strong> – Every team has its Ms. Reliable and Hill is one of those for coach Jeanette Wilder’s Tigers. Her near 6-foot height allows to make things happen around the rim, whether it is as a scorer or as a rebounder on either the offensive or defensive end. Hill will also find her way to the free throw line and possesses speed that enables her to get up and down the court in addition to taking care of the basketball. Hill scored the first two points of the game for Saluda and finished her evening with 23 points to lead all scorers. <strong>Samaria Ellis – 2021 - Newberry High School</strong> – Ellis displayed plenty of prowess on both offense and defense for Melissa Mendenhall’s Bulldogs team. Along with making things tough on defense for Saluda, Ellis also showed creativity on the offensive end with she managed to weave her way through a number of Tigers defenders. On plenty of occasions when she did just that, she found her way to the free throw line. Ellis scored 10 points on the evening, including going six out of eight from the stripe. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="245730" first="Mya" last="Carroll"] – 2022 – Saluda High School</strong> – This No. 12 does three, four, five, six and more things right for the Tigers. Carroll is another that is quick on her feet and puts that to her advantage when going from one end of the floor to the other. She will get opponents to commit turnovers, then turn defense into offense by getting out in transition for either contested or uncontested layups. Consistency is also a calling card for Carroll. She was one of two Tigers that scored at least once in every quarter of the game with Newberry. Put those elements together and it meant a 20-point outing for the Tigers junior. <strong>Stefani Gibson – 2022 – Newberry High School</strong> – Both teams entered the game with a healthy compliment of bench players. That came in handy for the Bulldogs as Gibson provided a healthy compliment of minutes for Newberry to keep her team in striking distance. Gibson had herself the sort of game that will draw compliments from any coach – one where she came up big in the second half. All 12 of her points she tallied came in the third and fourth quarters and she even made a pair of free throws in the third quarter. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-246209" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/593A8241-CADE-468E-9255-6D08E48ECF9C.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="246204" first="Kaylen" last="Nick"] – 2024 – Saluda High School</strong> – The only freshman that was in the Saluda starting five, Nick displayed attributes that will see her compile plenty of starts as her career evolves. Displaying her high basketball IQ, after a missed 3 attempt from Newberry, she let the ball bounce out of bounds instead of battling to keep it in bounds and risk giving the Bulldogs another possession. Nick also was an element to Saluda closing the second quarter on a 15-3 run with high-percentage attempts (some of them in transition) near the basket after Newberry had cut its deficit to 14-12 to begin the stanza. Nick finished with eight points – including six alone in that second quarter.