Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational
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One of the latest Holiday tournaments to take place was the Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational hosted every year at the 1A school located in Barnwell County. The first day of what was a multi-day tournament featured four girls games in addition…
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Continue ReadingOne of the latest Holiday tournaments to take place was the Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational hosted every year at the 1A school located in Barnwell County.
The first day of what was a multi-day tournament featured four girls games in addition to the four boys games that took place. Tuesday was the first day and it will continue throughout the week until Friday.
We at Prep Girls Hoops also made the trip down to the southeastern portion of the CSRA to take in the festivities. Here are our recaps of the four games that took place among girls teams at this year’s Hawk Invitational.
Pelion vs. Blackville-Hilda
It is not every tournament where the host team is actually the first on the schedule, but that was the case for this rendition of the Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational as the host Hawks took on the Panthers from 2A Pelion.
Given the early tip of the first game, that only added another element to Tuesday’s game.
Prep Girls Hoops remembers seeing Pelion at last year’s Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational – where they also matched up against the Hawks. This year’s result turned out to be very different to what happened with these two teams last season as the Hawks defended its home court en route to a 41-36 victory over the Panthers.
Records
The Panthers entered into Tuesday morning’s contest with Blackville-Hilda with a 5-3 record. This has included victories over King Academy and Wagener-Salley. As for the Hawks, they entered into Tuesday’s play with a 1-5 mark with the team’s lone victory up to this point coming against Ridge Spring-Monetta last week.
Remember What Happened Last Time?
Or in this case…last times. Pelion and Blackville-Hilda have already matched up against each other on two occasions this season. Both contests have gone the way of the Panthers, but not by much.
Pelion defeated Blackville-Hilda by a final of 52-49 in overtime on the Panthers’ home court. When the scene shifted to the Hawks’ nest, the result was a more defensive-minded contest but another two-point (30-28) victory for Pelion.
How Things Progressed
Both the Hawks and Panthers were as evenly matched as two teams can possibly be in the first quarter. At one point in the frame, the Blackville-Hilda advantage was 7-4 before it appeared Pelion would go into halftime with an 8-7 lead. It was 9-8 in favor of the Hawks after one frame.
At one point in the second quarter, the Panthers put eight consecutive points on the scoreboard, but the Pelion lead was only two (18-16) as halftime commenced.
In the third quarter, not only did the Blackville-Hilda offense put timely points on the scoreboard, Pelion’s primary point-getter was kept off said scoreboard and the result was a 29-23 advantage for the homestanding Hawks with one quarter left to play.
The Panthers showed they are a team that can put points on the board in spurts – and they showed this again when they began the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run. Timely offense, defense and free throw shooting were the calling cards late for Blackville-Hilda en route to the 41-36 win.
Primetime Performers
Jeronda Mack led all Blackville-Hilda scorers with 14 points. Not only was she willing to take long range shots, she made plenty of clutch plays for the Hawks on defense.
Zaniera Buckmon complimented the Blackville-Hilda offensive efforts with 12 points. She ran point for much of the game for the Hawks and was willing to shoot long-range jumpers, penetrate to the basket and get out in transition.
Eva Sapp, a sophomore, also had a big game with 11 points. She as well made many a play for Blackville-Hilda in this particularly showed itself in transition.
Camron Fields Camron Fields 5'4" | SG Pelion | 2023 State SC led all scorers with 18 points. She had 14 of hers in the first half of play. She excels as a point runner, a passer and a free throw shooter.
Up Next
Blackville-Hilda would go on to play Barnwell in the semifinals of the tournament while Pelion earned a consolation bracket contest against Williston-Elko.
Williston-Elko vs. Barnwell
On the heels of a boys’ contest between Ridge Spring-Monetta and Barnwell – one that the Trojans won in overtime by a final of 76-71 over the Warhorses, it was time for the next girls game on the card – which also featured the Warhorses.
Barnwell’s opponent for the first day of the event was the Blue Devils from 1A Williston-Elko. The second-round opponents for Blackville-Hilda and Pelion were determined from this contest.
These are also two teams Prep Girls Hoops remembers from the Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational of last season. When all was said and done in this contest, it would be the Warhorses that earned an emphatic 40-20 victory over the Blue Devils early Tuesday afternoon.
Records
With a record of 7-1, the Warhorses came into this year’s Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational established as one of the teams to beat in the 2A ranks. Barnwell’s lone loss so far of the season came at the hands of the 2A powerhouse that is Silver Bluff.
As for the Blue Devils, it entered the tournament with a mark of 1-6 – in addition to a pair of losses already against region opponents. Williston-Elko’s only win so far of the season has come against Fox Creek.
Remember What Happened Last Time?
Similarly to Pelion and Blackville-Hilda, the Warhorses and Blue Devils have also become well acquainted against one another. Up to this point, Barnwell has picked up two victories over Williston-Elko – both by double-digits. The Warhorses defeated the Blue Devils by a margin of 62-32 on Nov. 29. On Dec. 6, Barnwell defeated Williston-Elko by a final of 46-26.
How Things Progressed
Barnwell left no doubt early as to how this contest would play out. The Warhorses set the tone for this game by scoring the first 18 points – all 18 that were put on the scoreboard in the first quarter.
Williston-Elko managed to get a pair of field goals in the second quarter, but it was still nowhere near enough to match the offensive onslaught the Warhorses continued to bring. With two quarters in the books, the score was 29-8 in Barnwell’s favor.
The Blue Devils’ fortunes began to shift a bit in the third quarter as the lopsided margin the Warhorses had built enabled the team to rest much of its starting cast. With three frames having been completed, it was 38-12 in Barnwell’s favor.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Warhorses had completed its doubling up on Williston-Elko by virtue of its 40-20 victory.
Primetime Performers
There were two for Barnwell that scored nearly as many points as the entire Williston-Elko team. One of those was senior Makayla Creech Makayla Creech 5'11" | PF Barnwell | 2023 State SC who finished with 17 points. Beyond her scoring presented by the Carolina Shockers AAU product, her defense, rebounding and transition play were elements that fueled the Warhorses to the emphatic victory.
The other was a junior in J’Niyia Carree who added 16 points to the Barnwell effort. She too shined in many areas of the game including midrange jump shots, getting to the rim and displayed versatility.
A pair of sophomores were integral in the Blue Devils efforts on Tuesday afternoon. One of those was Jada Wilson Jada Wilson 5'7" | SF Williston-Elko | 2025 State SC who finished with eight points. Wilson particularly managed to find her offensive rhythm in the third quarter.
Ky’Reona Brabham, came off the bench and also finished with eight points. Much of what she got accomplished wad done in the fourth quarter as she had a “not how you start, but how you finish” type of game.
Up Next…
Barnwell will play Blackville-Hilda on Wednesday in the semifinals while Williston-Elko gets a consolation bracket contest with Pelion.
Denmark-Olar vs. Edisto
Game four of the Tuesday schedule featured a boys contest between Edisto and host school Blackville-Hilda – one that resulted in a victory for the Cougars over the host Hawks.
Following that matchup, it was the girls’ turn at the mic once again. The fifth contest of the day as part of the the eight-game slate had also featured the Cougars from 2A Edisto. They matched up with Denmark-Olar – last season’s 1A runners-up.
Coach Terence Jones’ Vikings once again looked like the 1A titans they are as Denmark-Olar scored an impressive victory over the Cougars with the final tally being 64-16.
Impressive Once Again
The Vikings appear once again to be a force to be reckoned with in the 1A ranks. Denmark-Olar entered Tuesday’s play with a 6-2 record including a perfect 3-0 at home and 3-0 on the road. The team’s only losses up to this point were on neutral sites – at the A1 Hoops Report-hosted She Got Next tournament at White Knoll HS when the Vikings suffered defeat at the hands of 5A Dutch Fork and 2A Timberland.
Remember What Happened Last Time?
The Vikings and Cougars met on two separate occasions during the 2019-20 season with both contests going the way of Denmark-Olar. The team defeated Edisto at home with the final being 48-14 on Dec. 18 and on the road on January 9 as that contest had a 57-18 result.
How Things Progressed
The first few moments were scoreless, but one had to figure given the offensive firepower that Denmark-Olar presents on a game-by-game basis that it would not be the case for long. Eventually, the Vikings placed 19 points on the board in the first quarter and jumped out to a 19-3 lead with one stanza in the books.
Edisto got a bit more offense going in the second quarter. Denmark-Olar got a lot more going in frame No. 2. Eventually, it was a 38-10 lead in favor of the Vikings.
The ensuing quarter continued to indicate that everything was all academic. Coach Jones’ Vikings outscored the Cougars by a margin of 23-5 and its lead became 61-10 at the completion of three periods.
This gave the Vikings plenty of time to rest their starters – particularly their big three (more on them in a bit). In the end, the fourth quarter featured a turning clock (as was the case with the earlier matchup between Barnwell and Williston-Elko) and, ultimately, an emphatic win for Denmark-Olar.
Primetime Performers
Sophomore Aveion Walker Aveion Walker 5'10" | SF Denmark-Olar | 2025 State SC spearheaded Denmark-Olar’s offensive barrage with a 24-point performance. Her running of the floor in addition to her rebounding were two other attributes that were on display throughout the game’s duration.
Dy’Neka Roberts Dy’Neka Roberts 5'8" | SF Denmark-Olar | 2023 State SC added 14 points to the Vikings’ cause. Roberts managed to start in the fourth quarter despite her team being up by a wide margin.
Aijalon Wroten Aijalon Wroten 5'3" | PG Denmark-Olar | 2023 State SC had another impressive outing in her senior campaign as well with 11 points. The Cougars had no answers for Wroten when she had the rock behind the 3-point arc.
On the Edisto end of things, they got five-point performances out of Ayanna Jefferson and Zy’Asia Stewart.
Up Next…
Denmark-Olar earned itself a date with Swansea the following day while Edisto was emphatically relegated to the consolation bracket – and a matchup with Ridge Spring-Monetta.
Ridge Spring-Monetta vs. Swansea
At this point, there was only one more girls game left to decide.
The next-to-last boys matchup…which was between the Red Devils of 2A Wade Hampton and the War Eagles of 1A Wagener-Salley had just completed with the Red Devils earning a win over the War Eagles. There was still a boys contest between 1A schools Williston-Elko and Hunter-Kinard-Tyler still left to play, but due to multiple sicknesses, the game was cancelled with the Blue Devils earning an automatic semifinal bid. Ridge Spring-Monetta and Swansea met up on the girls bracket in the final game of Tuesday’s slate.
The winner of this game would earn a get-together with Denmark-Olar the following day – and that winner was proven to be the Tigers by virtue of their 57-38 win over the Trojans.
Records
Already this season has proven to be an improvement for the Tigers. Swansea were winners of only three games last season (3-15) and two of those came at the expense of Brookland-Cayce. The other was against Columbia. As for Ridge Spring-Monetta, the Trojans had been winless entering Tuesday’s games.
How Things Progressed
At one point in the first quarter, the Swansea lead was only 7-3, but that lead eventually ballooned to 17-3. Ridge Spring-Monetta managed to trim its deficit to 10 at one point in the first quarter, but the first quarter was complete with Swansea maintaining a 21-7 lead.
With the Tigers ensuring that not too many of its possessions would go to waste, it enabled Swansea to extend its margin between themselves and Ridge Spring-Monetta to 18. It was Tigers 34 and Trojans 16 at the halftime period.
Swansea continued to pour on the offense in the third quarter as they outscored the Trojans by a margin of 15-4 en route to leading by a total of 49-20.
The Tigers establishing such a gap between themselves and Ridge Spring-Monetta enabled many a Swansea starter to rest for much of the fourth quarter. The Trojans managed to outscore the Tigers by a score of 18-8 in the fourth quarter, but victory was essentially sealed for Swansea with the final being 57-38.
Primetime Performers
Cydney Dibble, who can play either the one, two or three, scored 11 points in the Swansea victory. Much of what the Tigers did was predicated on their ability to get out in transition and finish at the rim. Dibble did plenty of that on Tuesday evening.
Also with 11 points was Dazejah Lanham who is a 2023. Lanham also plays softball outside of what she gets accomplished on the basketball court.
With 10 points, junior point guard Zamariya Crum was another reliable point-getter for Swansea. As much as she excels on offense, she also does the same on defense as a consistent threat to steal the ball.
The result of this one was not in much doubt, but that did not stop Bri Hendley Bri Hendley 5'6" | PF Ridge Spring-Monetta | 2026 State SC from playing hard until the final buzzer. Hendley came off of the Trojans’ bench and eventually led all scorers with 13 points. Much of what she did occurred close to the basket, but she also displayed a bit of ball handling capabilities with a talent for getting from one end of the floor to the other with the ball in her hand.
Up Next…
Swansea plays Denmark-Olar on Wednesday in the winner’s bracket. Ridge Spring-Monetta gets Edisto in a consolation bracket matchup the same day.