Around the State: Richland County SCISA & Lex-Rich District 5

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Let’s try to put a bow on Richland County in the Midlands. This article we will combine a few schools that list themselves as part of Lexington-Richland County District 5. Those schools would be Chapin HS, Dutch Fork HS and Irmo HS. Let’s add some SCISA schools to the mix here also this time around. SUBSCRIBE today and remember to #RecruitThePalmettoState at all times.

Schools in the County: Ben Lippen, Cardinal Newman, Chapin HS, Dutch Fork HS, Hammond, Heathwood Hall and Irmo HS

Ben Lippen

Kristen Dickerson is returning for her second season at Ben Lippen following a stint in which Tee’Ara Adams was at the helm.

The Falcons did manage to make the tournament last season only to be one-and-doned at the hands of Pinewood Prep. One aspect of Ben Lippen’s season that caused problems later on is going only 2-6 against divisional opponents. Then again, it is hard to win when sharing the same region as Heathwood Hall and Hammond.

Both Kate Bobo Kate Bobo SG Ben Lippen | 2026 SC , a sophomore and Anna Kate Moore Anna Kate Moore 5'10" | SF Ben Lippen | 2027 SC , a freshman, are sure to be integral parts to this team in 2023-24.

Cardinal Newman

The 2022-23 season was one that saw the Cardinals enter unfamiliar territory given their previous success – rebuilding.

Its core from its championship runs either graduated or transferred to other schools. Even its former coach was looking for greener pastures after that final championship run.

There are signs that Coral Johnson’s team can improve over the showing they put forth last season. Dominique Briggs Dominique Briggs 5'11" | SF Cardinal Newman | 2027 SC , a 5-foot-11 small forward will be joining the team as a freshman. Zaria Thompson Zaria Thompson 6'3" | C Cardinal Newman | 2027 SC is another who looks to add height in the interior as she stands at 6-foot-3. Teonna Draughn Teonna Draughn 5'5" | CG Cardinal Newman | 2026 State SC is a freshman from Hemingway who averaged 18.9 points and 2.4 steals in her freshman season.

Chapin HS

Despite the 8-14 record the 5A Eagles compiled in 2022-23, Chapin still qualified for the tournament where they suffered a first-round exit at the hands of eventual champion Mauldin.

Where the Eagles particularly ran into trouble was the latter part of the schedule when region play began. But when one is in the same region as teams such as Lexington, Dutch Fork and River Bluff, region play will pose its fair share of trouble spots.

Perhaps those trouble spots can be alleviated because of the talent the Eagles have on its roster. Chad Boland’s team includes Reagan Haggard Reagan Haggard 5'11" | CG Chapin | 2026 State SC , a sophomore who also participates on the softball team at Chapin. She averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals last season.

It also includes Brooke Holmes Brooke Holmes 5'8" | SF Chapin | 2025 State SC who is entering her junior season with the Eagles and also thrives with its lacrosse team. Basketball-wise, she averaged 10.2 points and 1.3 steals last season. Kiley Freeman Kiley Freeman 5'5" | PG Chapin | 2027 SC will embark on her freshman voyage with the Eagles.

Dutch Fork HS

The 5A Silver Foxes will have a new woman in charge of the bench. Candace Bush, who formerly coached at 2A Columbia, will now steer what is a talented ship at Dutch Fork.

Bush replaces Faye Norris who retired following a 30-year coaching career. The Silver Foxes’ stock is up in the eyes of the SCBCA as they are ranked ninth in its Preseason Top 10 poll.

Bush will surely be enamored with the laundry list of talent she will get to work with – including senior guard Antoinet Cheeseboro Antoinet Cheeseboro 5'6" | CG Dutch Fork | 2024 State SC who recently committed to Newberry. Cheeseboro averaged eight points, 4.1 steals and 3.3 assists per game last season. Another senior featured on the Silver Foxes’ roster is Krystian Spratley Krystian Spratley 5'6" | CG Dutch Fork | 2024 SC who averaged 6.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and two steals per contest.

Christyonna Jackson Christyonna Jackson 5'10" | PF Dutch Fork | 2024 State SC is also returning for her senior season. The Silver Foxes’ resident upperclassman big averaged 8.1 rebounds, 7.1 points, 2.9 steals and 0.8 blocks a game. Aaliyah Lee Aaliyah Lee 5'7" | CG Dutch Fork | 2026 State SC will be entering her sophomore season after averaging 9.6 points, 3.4 steals and 2.9 assists as a freshman. Michaela Fairwell Michaela Fairwell 5'10" | SG Dutch Fork | 2025 State SC first played varsity as an eighth grader and averaged 8.9 points and 2.3 steals as a sophomore. Two other featured players are Trinity Crumlin Trinity Crumlin 6'1" | C Dutch Fork M.S. / Dutch Fork | 2027 SC (who played in 19 games last season as an eighth grader) and Ciara Cooke Ciara Cooke 5'3" | PG Dutch Fork | 2027 SC .

Hammond HS

The Skyhawks have fielded one of the premier teams in the SCISA realm since Roshan Myers came on the scene to become Hammond’s coach. One would believe that would be no different in 2023-24.

Last season’s Hammond rendition qualified for the SCISA 4A quarterfinals. The Skyhawks were particularly difficult to defeat on their home floor as they only dropped one game last season at home – and that was to Heathwood Hall.

Samira Khalil Samira Khalil 5'8" | CG Hammond | 2024 State SC is the focal point for all things Skyhawks. The Elon commit averaged 17.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals in 2022-23. Kayce Hyman Kayce Hyman 5'10" | SF Hammond | 2024 State SC , who was originally a transfer from 5A Dutch Fork, is also returning for her senior campaign. Anna Katherine Adams Anna Katherine Adams 5'5" | PG Hammond | 2024 State SC has played at the varsity level since she was an eighth grader and averaged 6.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per contest. Arrington Earle Arrington Earle 5'8" | SF Hammond | 2025 State SC , who also plays volleyball, is also returning for her junior season.

Heathwood Hall

When SCISA announced the new 4A classification, it was not much of a surprise as to which team in SCISA 4A would be the team to beat.

Last season, the Highlanders ran roughshod through their competition to a 26-1 record. Even the championship game they played against Northwood Academy was lopsided. The rest of the SCISA 4A field will have to contend with this juggernaut for the next couple of seasons as their entire core is made up of juniors.

The offers for Lauren Jacobs Lauren Jacobs 5'9" | PG Heathwood Hall | 2025 State SC certainly piled up throughout the offseason with Elon, Western Carolina, UNC-Charlotte, ETSU and Central Florida all having her on their radars – along with SEC schools Auburn and Ole Miss. Jacobs has played at the varsity level since she was in eighth grade. She averaged 22 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 steals a game last season. Camillea Gore Camillea Gore 6'0" | SG Heathwood Hall | 2025 State SC is a two-sport athlete with volleyball also occupying her athletic schedule. She averaged 10.3 points, six rebounds and 1.9 steals per game last season.

As for Sabreya Monsanto Sabreya Monsanto 5'11" | SF Heathwood Hall | 2025 State SC , she has three sports that occupy her athletic calendar with softball and volleyball being those other sports. Last season on the basketball court, she averaged 11.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 3.4 assists per game. She also has played varsity since she was an eighth grader. Shamarie Hayes Shamarie Hayes 5'8" | CG Heathwood Hall | 2025 State SC proved to be an x-factor that turned the Highlanders’ big three into a big four. She averaged 6.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game last season.

Irmo HS

The boys basketball team at Irmo will be entering this season as defending 4A state champions. Lately, the bag has been mixed at best on the girls end of the Yellow Jackets’ hoops ledger.

The Yellow Jackets had an improved 2022-23 over their 2021-22, but were still on the receiving end of a defeat to Wilson in the first round of the 4A playoffs. Coach Trina Wagstaff will be entering her third season at the helm at Irmo.

Irmo’s focal point is Andrea Collins Andrea Collins 5'8" | CG Irmo | 2024 SC who is entering her senior season. For teams looking to score wins over the Yellow Jackets, they must keep Collins in check. Claire Howard Claire Howard 6'3" | C Irmo | 2026 State SC had a breakout season last year as a freshman where she averaged 7.7 rebounds, 7.4 points and 2.3 blocks per matchup. Casey Rivers Casey Rivers 5'11" | C Irmo | 2024 SC will also be entering her senior season and established herself as one of the team’s primary board-getters.