She Got Next Thanksgiving: Day One Morning Results

Thanksgiving week means plenty of things. Quality time spent with family, feasting on well-cooked food and a bit of a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.    It also means the return of one of South Carolina's signature early season tournaments.    That would be the She Got Next Thanksgiving Classic hosted by A1 Hoops Report. It emanated for the second consecutive year from White Knoll HS and it came at an interesting time given <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/what-we-saw-white-knoll-21-summerville-14/">White Knoll hosted a 5A football playoff game against Summerville</a> that same weekend.   We at Prep Girls Hoops made the trip to the home of the Timberwolves for Friday's slate of games. Here is a look at how the early day contests unfolded.    Strom Thurmond vs. Eau Claire   The advantage of a 5A school such as White Knoll is that it has two gyms to host games. In the auxiliary gym, the first matchup on the card featured a couple of 2A teams each with signature stars.    Those would be a CSRA team in the Rebels of Strom Thurmond against a Midlands team in the Shamrocks of Eau Claire. Both teams qualified for the 2A tournament last season. At least year's She Got Next Thanksgiving tournament, the Rebels did not take part, but the Shamrocks went 1-1, losing to Trinity Collegiate but defeating Irmo in the Northeast Bracket.    One of the first winners of the day's worth of hoops at White Knoll would be the Shamrocks as they earned a victory over the Rebels with the final being 44-20.    Remember What Happened Last Time?    This is the first time the Rebels and Shamrocks have exchanged pleasantries since the 2012 season when Eau Claire earned a 56-36 victory over Strom Thurmond in early February.    How Things Progressed   At times, playing games in the morning can lead to teams looking a bit tired or rusty. That was not the case for Eau Claire as they embarked on a 5-0 run which prompted a timeout from Strom Thurmond. All of the Rebels' first quarter points came by way of free throws. It was 13-3 in the Shamrocks favor following one frame.    The Rebels began to have success putting the ball through the hoop in the latter moments of the second quarter. Both Eau Claire and Strom Thurmond tallied nine points apiece and it was 22-12 in favor of the Shamrocks at the half.    If the first two quarters were mostly Eau Claire, it was safe to say that the third stanza was all Eau Claire all the time. The Shamrocks put a good bit of distance between themselves and Strom Thurmond and held the Rebels to only one field goal. Eau Claire was in cruise control, leading 34-14 with three complete.    At this point in the game, it was not a matter of if Eau Claire would be victorious, but by how many points they would be victorious by. The answer to that question would be 24 points as the Shamrocks earned a 44-20 victory over the Rebels.    Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/11/IMG_5422.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-812472" style="width:365px;height:auto" /></figure>   With 20 points, [player_tooltip player_id='378764' first='Destinee' last='Tiller'] paved the way to victory for the Shamrocks. The points she scores is what typically gets her the accolades she has earned, but she also does plenty of work on the defensive end and understands how to organize an offense in a halfcourt set.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/11/IMG_5424.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-812473" style="width:360px;height:auto" /></figure>   The Shamrocks were also the beneficiary of a 14-point outing courtesy of Quindia Nelson. She did the bulk of her damage in the second half as she placed eight of those 14 on the scoreboard for Eau Claire.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/11/IMG_5426.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-812477" style="width:357px;height:auto" /></figure>   Milaysha Chisholm was particularly strong in the first half. Chisholm scored eight points for the game with all eight coming in the first half of play. Among Chisholm's strong suits is the ability to get to the free throw line.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/11/IMG_5429.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-812478" style="width:294px;height:auto" /></figure>   The Rebels had a tough morning shooting from the field but [player_tooltip player_id='216955' first='Katlyn' last='Chinn'], the team's star senior and SCBCA Preseason 2A Senior honoree was Strom Thurmond's leading point-getter. Chinn finished her game with eight points.    What's Next   Eau Claire moved into the championship game of the southeast bracket against host school White Knoll - a game the Timberwolves. As for Strom Thurmond, what awaited them is a consolation game contest with Fairfield Central - a matchup the Rebels won 38-37.    Greer vs. Denmark-Olar   Our next contest we had the opportunity to take in took us back to the main gym at White Knoll where one of the signature 4A teams took on a group that has been among the class of the 1A ranks the past few seasons.    That game featured Greer and Denmark-Olar. Both teams were part of last year's She Got Next. The Yellow Jackets defeated Lexington before losing to Northwood Academy in the Southeast Bracket. Denmark-Olar suffered defeats to Dutch Fork and Timberland in the North Bracket that was won by Westwood.    The first South Bracket victor of this year's tournament would be Yellow Jackets as they defeated the Vikings with the final being 44-33.   How Things Progressed   Given it was the season opener for the Vikings, one could consider this game against a tough Yellow Jackets bunch a litmus test for what Denmark-Olar could resemble after graduating three seniors from last season's rendition. The early returns seemed promising as the Vikings only trailed Greer 11-9 after one quarter.    Those returns continued to stay promising as Denmark-Olar managed to match Greer point for point. A buzzer-beating two pointer from the Vikings concluded the first half as they took a 20-18 edge into halftime.    No more miss nice Greer appeared to be the mantra for the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets dominated the first eight minutes of the second half outscoring Denmark-Olar 18-7. At the conclusion of three frames, it was 36-25 in favor of the Yellow Jackets.    That third quarter turned out to be the difference as the Vikings were unable to put together an eight-minute period that was similar to that of Greer's in the third quarter. When all was said and done, Greer earned the win over Denmark-Olar.    Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/11/IMG_5448.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-812482" style="width:317px;height:auto" /></figure>   A 20-point performance courtesy of [player_tooltip player_id='371890' first='Samora' last='Moody'] was the difference for Greer. Moody showcased her efficiency start to finish – including keying the third quarter Yellow Jackets scoring binge that put the contest out of reach.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/11/IMG_5451.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-812487" style="width:316px;height:auto" /></figure>   With eight points, [player_tooltip player_id='253656' first='Jalasia' last='Lewis'] tallied eight points to get her senior season under way. Lewis plays primarily at the three and is listed at 5-foot-8. A good bit of Lewis' scoring production came by way of the free throw line.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/11/IMG_5453.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-812488" style="width:318px;height:auto" /></figure>   Speaking of seniors, the Yellow Jackets' resident upperclassman big Alyssa Jackson chimed in with seven points off the bench. She stands at an even six feet and can play productive minutes as either a four or a five.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/11/IMG_5455.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-812489" style="width:324px;height:auto" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='175345' first='Aveion' last='Walker'] led all Denmark-Olar point-getters with a 14-point performance. When she was scoring, the Vikings were in position to win. Out of the 14 points she scored, 10 occurred in the first half.    What's Next?   Greer would await the winner of a later matchup between Gray Collegiate and Trinity Collegiate – which turned out to be the the Titans who would go on to defeat the Yellow Jackets. As for Denmark-Olar, they would look forward to a consolation bracket contest against the War Eagles. Gray Collegiate defeated Denmark-Olar on Saturday by a final of 45-35.

Thanksgiving week means plenty of things. Quality time spent with family, feasting on well-cooked food and a bit of a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.