St. Joseph’s Catholic vs. Blacksburg HS

A pair of Region 2-AA combatants got together at Blacksburg HS in South Carolina’s Upstate. An exciting contest ended up going the way of the home team as the Wildcats got the better of the Knights with the final being 53-48. If the game’s opening minutes were any indication, it at first appeared that Blacksburg would cruise to victory. The Wildcats opened the game with a 9-0 run and eventually assumed an 11-2 advantage before St. Joseph’s Catholic attempted a ferocious comeback. Both teams now have similar 8-5 records with Blacksburg at 2-0 in its region and the Knights at 2-1 in region play. Both teams are chasing first-place Landrum – currently 11-5 with a 2-0 region mark. Prep Girls Hoops was on hand for Tuesday’s matchup. Here is who had impressive outings to help their teams. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-380578" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/IMG_6681-scaled-crop-2048x1345-1643171150-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="380649" first="Janique" last="Davis"] – 2024 – Blacksburg HS</strong> – The Wildcats’ 5-foot-7-star sophomore established herself early as someone the Knights had to contain if they were to win this game. Davis will find a way to get to the rim – whether it is by cutting to the basket without the ball in her hand to receive a feed from a teammate or penetrating through defenders while handling the rock. She is a lockdown defender who will be a big-time boost for a team’s defensive efforts – including when putting opposing ball carriers in precarious double team scenarios. She is as much a passer as a scorer and will shoot 3-pointers as well. Davis scored 20 points before an injury late in the fourth quarter where she came out of the game. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-380580" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/IMG_6657-scaled-crop-2048x1345-1643171240-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="380651" first="Ginny" last="Anne Dumont"] – 2027 – St. Joseph’s Catholic</strong> – The Knights were well-served by its youth on Tuesday night. Coach Natalie Satterfield’s Knights had an eighth grader in its starting five as well as Dumont, a seventh grader. She had one of those many games defined by how she finished as opposed to how she started. Dumont was kept off the scoreboard in the first half before helping the Knights’ come-from-behind efforts in the third and fourth quarters. Of the 12 points she scored, 10 came in the fourth quarter and she proved she can score in a variety of ways – including behind the 3-point line and at the free throw line. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-380582" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/IMG_6763-scaled-crop-1944x1277-1643171357-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="185231" first="Tyty" last="Tate"] – 2022 – Blacksburg HS</strong> – Any team attempting to claim victory over head coach Bobby Rodgers’ Wildcats team better have a solution on how to contain No. 1 or there is a good chance that team will end up in the loss column. Tate scored 18 points and a good bit of that 18 occurred via drawing contact and finding herself at the free throw line. Ten of her 18 points came via the charity stripe, but she also did have a made basket from the field in every quarter. Tate previously played at Gaffney, was a preseason SCBCA 2A Top 5 senior selection and announced back in December that she received an offer from Denmark Tech. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-380584" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/IMG_6715-2-scaled-crop-1826x1199-1643171486-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>Jamison White – 2022 – St. Joseph’s Catholic</strong> – White was another Knight who stepped up big in the second half after being held to a mere two points in the opening pair of stanzas. Listed at 5-foot-7, she will get out in transition and convert on high-percentage shot opportunities. White makes effective inbounds passes. White first got the Knights on the board in the first quarter via an offensive rebound that became a putback for a pair of points after Blacksburg embarked on a 9-0 run to start the game. She will battle for rebounds and can recover in case of a mishandle with the ball. White finished with 13 points. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-380586" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/IMG_6638-scaled-crop-2048x1345-1643171578-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="251763" first="Danica" last="Henderson"] – 2024 – Blacksburg HS</strong> – Any team that has two primary scorers will like its chances in any game they play. If a team has a third scorer that can contribute buckets and minutes, it is even better. On Tuesday evening, Henderson was that third scorer (as she has been for much of the season) and she particularly displayed why in the second half. In addition to her skill for coming up with steals and grabbing rebounds, the 5-foot-6 sophomore scored eight points – and tallied all eight in the second half. Henderson was also one of the starters and managed to stay out of foul trouble as she had only two personals called against her for the game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="380650" first="Tiffany" last="Helmer"] – 2026 – St. Joseph’s Catholic</strong> – Helmer is proving to be another example why Knights fans ought to be optimistic about what is in store for the next few seasons of girl’s basketball at St. Joseph’s Catholic. In similar fashion to her teammates Dumont and White, she as well had a banner second half with nine points. All nine came by way of the 3-point shot as she buried a trio of triples – including one to beat the buzzer in the fourth quarter as the contest came to a close. The eighth grade up-and-comer is listed at 5-foot-4 and provides scoring and defense with her ability to collect steals and create extra possessions for the Knights.