Red Raider Thanksgiving Invitational: 2024/25

With the offseason and preseason having concluded – what comes after that is, of course, the regular season, which got off to an exciting start at Greenville High School. It was the site of the Red Raider Thanksgiving Invitational which featured several teams from throughout South Carolina’s Upstate. Eight in total commenced on the home of the Red Raiders in hopes of getting their seasons beginning in the win column. Prep Girls Hoops was on hand to take in what was a scintillating evening of basketball. Here is a look at sophomores and freshmen that caught our attention on Friday night. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/DCC827BA-51C0-426F-83DC-BA2EB9FD77CA-crop-1104x725-1637411899.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-354355" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/DCC827BA-51C0-426F-83DC-BA2EB9FD77CA-crop-1104x725-1637411899-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="175308" first="Raina" last="McGowens"] – 2024 – Wren HS</strong> – McGowens had herself one of those “not how you start, but how you finish” sort of games on Friday night when the Hurricanes took on Woodmont. Also part of Wren’s starting five, she had plenty of occasions where she attacked the rim and she would be fouled, sending her to the free throw line. McGowens found her shot from the stripe in the fourth quarter as she made both of her attempts in the frame. She was held scoreless in the first half before coming up big in crunch time in the third and fourth quarters where she scored all 11 of her points. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-354346" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/D87895E6-70F6-4AD0-BA79-C5B79D72C5EB-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="176613" first="Trinity" last="Nesbitt"] – 2024 – Woodmont HS</strong> – When a team is filled with a mixture of veteran and young talent as is the case with coach James Towe’s Wildcats, it undoubtedly makes said team a group to watch over the next several seasons. Nesbitt can intercept passes and draw contact to place her at the free throw line. She also uses every bit of her 5-foot-10 height to reject shots when on defense in addition to hauling in rebounds. After tallying only one point in the first half (which came via a made free throw), she finished her team’s game against Wren having contributed 10 points to the Wildcats’ efforts. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="331884" first="Q’nigue" last="Chambers"] – 2024 – Woodmont HS</strong> – The Region 5A Wildcats’ first contest of the season featured its team as well as Wren of the 3A ranks. Chambers managed to set the tone early for Woodmont by scoring the Wildcats’ first basket from the field of that game. She will attack the rim, even if it means a slew of defenders are waiting on her. Chambers also managed to draw contact and find herself at the free throw line – particularly in the fourth quarter. She only had two fouls called on her throughout the duration of the contest and ended up having scored eight points. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-354348" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/0ECADBF8-A5C5-45A5-81BF-AA4DCE31AA7F-crop-1200x788-1637411542-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="280575" first="Quinasia" last="Abercrombie"] – 2024 – Wade Hampton HS</strong> – In the Generals’ game with host school Greenville, there was not much that the Red Raiders could do to contain Wade Hampton’s multi-talented sophomore. For a good portion of the game, the 5-foot-7 Abercrombie took on the task of guarding the 6-foot-4 [player_tooltip player_id="124106" first="J’Adore" last="Young"] of Greenville. Abercrombie put in a great deal of work around the rim, including getting rebounds and successful putbacks. She also made defensive plays and got out in transition, including for some clutch baskets for the Generals when Greenville appeared to be on the comeback trail. Abercrombie tallied 14 points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="242932" first="Trinity" last="Jones"] – 2025 – Mauldin HS</strong> – The first game of the season for the Mavericks had to feel very familiar to Jones given that she played last season at the very Greenville court Friday’s event was held at. Jones scored 20 points in Mauldin’s 57-56 victory over Christ Church Episcopal and managed to tally 20 despite being kept off the scoreboard in the first quarter. She found her way on that scoreboard for the rest of the game and a big reason why was because of her hitting her foul shots. Jones will go after the ball on defense, stays active and quick on her feet, dives for loose balls and was effective in the midrange game. Jones attended Greenville HS before making the move over to Mauldin HS.