Skyhawk Holiday Classic: Day Two Recaps

In November and December, a litany of schools host tournaments that welcome a sizable number of teams to their home courts for a few days. One of those annual tournaments emanates from the Midlands just south of downtown Columbia.    More specifically Hammond School – home to the SCISA 4A Skyhawks. The LBI Carolina-hosted Skyhawk Holiday Classic returned once again with six girls teams and four boys teams taking part.    We at Prep Girls Hoops made the drive to Hammond for the Friday slate of games where all 10 teams took to the court. Without further adieu, here is our recap of the three girls games that took place.    Lugoff-Elgin vs. Lower Richland   As expected for a Midlands-based showcase, mostly Midlands teams were on the schedule. Two of those teams were first up that Friday.    Lugoff-Elgin was not at last season's Skyhawk Holiday Classic, but the 4A Demons have already equaled their win total (three) from last year. Lower Richland, home of the 3A Diamond Hornets, are a mainstay at this showcase. Last season, they began the showcase with losses to South Pointe and Heathwood Hall before defeating the host Skyhawks on the final day of the event.    The day began with an emphatic victory for Lower Richland with the final score being 77-30 over the Demons.    Remember What Happened Last Time?   Friday's get-together between the Demons and Diamond Hornets represented the first meeting between the two teams since 2010. In that matchup, Lower Richland earned the 45-23 win over Lugoff-Elgin.    Quarter-By-Quarter   The Diamond Hornets nearly equaled that 45-point total from that 2010 get-together in the first quarter alone. With an offensive and defensive clinic that caused plenty of problems for the Demons, Lower Richland led 36-10 after the first quarter.   The second quarter may not have been as one-sided as the first eight minutes were, but it was still advantage Diamond Hornets. At the break, the scoreboards read that Lower Richland's lead over Lugoff-Elgin was 50-19.   What was the case in the first half continued to be that in the second half – all Diamond Hornets, all the time. Lower Richland was in cruise control on Friday afternoon en route to another victory.   Typically, when a team is ahead by a wider-than-usual margin, that means the clock will start continuously running with only timeouts and injuries being reasons for stoppage. That was the case for this one where the Diamond Hornets won going away.    Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7405.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-829549" style="width:447px;height:auto" /></figure>   It was an 18-point outing for [player_tooltip player_id='831277' first='Taelor' last='Hiller-Johnson']. If the Lower Richland offense was able to find her in the painted area, it was almost an automatic pair of points. Hiller-Johnson is a six-foot junior.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7407.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-829550" style="width:445px;height:auto" /></figure>   Adding 16 to the overall total for the Diamond Hornets was [player_tooltip player_id='496217' first='Chi'nya' last='Isaac']. While the bulk of what Lower Richland managed to get accomplished occurred near the rim, Isaac did have one of the three 3-pointers the Diamond Hornets compiled.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7404.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-829551" style="width:440px;height:auto" /></figure>   With 14 points, [player_tooltip player_id='405364' first='Jhnai' last='Sumter'] had another productive contest for the Diamond Hornets. All of her scores in this one were of the two-point variety and she will play valuable time either in the frontcourt or backcourt.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7397-crop-2236x1469-1703909431.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-829553" style="width:435px;height:auto" /></figure>   Nine times out of 10, teams that have rough games have that bright spot. That bright spot for the Demons was [player_tooltip player_id='637609' first='Jillian' last='Rush']. The freshman team captain for Lugoff-Elgin led all scorers for her team with 11.   What's Next?   On the final day of the Skyhawk Holiday Showcase, Lugoff-Elgin would take on host Hammond. As for Lower Richland, their final foe a the event will be South Pointe.    Eau Claire vs. South Pointe   The second girls game of the day involved the lone girls team from outside of the Midlands.    Eau Claire was absent from last year's Skyhawk Holiday Classic. The 2A Shamrocks have opened the 2023-24 season with a 4-3 record with two of those losses coming by way of Lower Richland.    As for South Pointe, they are another mainstay at the annual tournament. The Stallions are once again among the class of the 4A field. South Pointe's only loss to an in-state team thus far was against Mauldin. The Stallions went 3-0 last year at the Skyhawk event by defeating Lower Richland and a pair of North Carolina teams in Concord Academy and 1 of 1 Academy.    Similar to how Lower Richland earned an emphatic win over Lugoff-Elgin, the same was true for South Pointe over Eau Claire.    Quarter-By-Quarter   Eau Claire is a very good 2A team. South Pointe is one of the elite teams in the 4A ranks. Those realities appeared to show themselves in the first quarter as it would conclude with the Stallions ahead by a margin of 26-7.   South Pointe continued to pour it on in the second quarter – but it was not because of their starting cast. The Stallions would go into halftime with a lead of 48-12 because they were outdoing Eau Claire in terms of bench points by a margin of 15-0.   That depth continued to be on display as South Pointe built up a massive lead on Eau Claire. With the game all but out of reach midway through the third quarter, many a Stallions starter got to take in the proceedings from the comforts of their bench.   Those Stallions starters were back in the game at the start of the fourth, but later returned to the bench as South Pointe has as comfortable a lead as a team could possibly possess. The final was Stallions a lot, Shamrocks a lot less.   Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7444-crop-2878x1890-1703909625.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-829556" style="width:407px;height:auto" /></figure>   Many top-tier teams are such because they get major production from their bigs. That continues to be the case for South Pointe as they got 21 points from their star big in [player_tooltip player_id='324542' first='JaNyia' last='Cunningham'].    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/11/E0B3EE75-8059-4EFD-9772-B1966ECD71FC.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-357519" style="width:400px;height:auto" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='199696' first='Victoria' last='Morris'] had another big game with 18 points. Morris particularly had lots of success in converting with high-percentage shots near the rim and with getting to the free throw line. She is an unsigned senior.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/11/IMG_5545.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-812517" style="width:400px;height:auto" /></figure>   Three 11-point scorers also were part of the points parade for the Stallions. One of those was their star eighth grader [player_tooltip player_id='429828' first='Kaleigh' last='Lucas']. She effectively runs point, can attack the rim, pass accurately and displays accuracy from long range.    Remember that bench mentioned a bit earlier? Two off that bench also had big games. One was an eighth grader by the name of [player_tooltip player_id='831269' first='Ailema' last='Land']. She is listed at 5-foot-8 on the South Pointe roster and is very versatile.    The other is [player_tooltip player_id='185416' first='Serenity' last='Woods'], who transferred to South Pointe from Legion Collegiate. Woods adds to the depth the Stallions already have in the backcourt. She stands at 5-foot-6 and is of three juniors on the roster.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7452-crop-2698x1772-1703909854.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-829559" style="width:395px;height:auto" /></figure>   As is often the case with Shamrocks contests, [player_tooltip player_id='378764' first='Destinee' last='Tiller'] will light up a scoreboard. With a 14-point performance, she did everything she could on what was otherwise a rough day at the office for Eau Claire.    What's Next?   Next up for the Shamrocks will be a contest with 3A Crestwood the following day. The Stallions would close the Skyhawk Holiday Classic with a contest against Lower Richland.    Crestwood vs. Hammond   Speaking of Crestwood…   While the Knights may not have been part of last season's Skyhawk Holiday Classic, Crestwood has begun the 2023-24 season with a 4-5 record. Those five losses have come against tough opponents – twice to area rival Sumter and once each to North Augusta, Lower Richland and Gray Collegiate.    As for Hammond, they are the mainstay of mainstays since this is their tournament. Last season, the Skyhawks earned a close win over 4A Irmo before losses to 1 of 1 Academy and Lower Richland.    Would the Skyhawks defend its home court? The result would be a 76-45 win for Hammond over Crestwood.   Quarter-By-Quarter   At multi-team showcases such as this one, it is always a question as to if the home team will be successful in defending its home court. If the first quarter was any indication, the answer was yes as Hammond had a 20-8 lead over Crestwood.    As the pace was up-tempo, the number of points that were being placed on the board only was on the increase. A more evenly matched second quarter where the Skyhawks only outscored the Knights 20-16 meant a 40-24 Hammond lead at the break.   For much of the third quarter, the Knights encountered more than their fair share of struggles and that allowed the Skyhawks to put even more distance between themselves and their Crestwood adversaries. It was 65-36 in the home team's favor at its conclusion.   It was all academic at this point. A day after the Skyhawks suffered a tough loss on their home floor against South Pointe, Hammond encountered much better fortunes against Crestwood to notch its first win of this year's Skyhawk Holiday Classic.    Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7462-crop-2236x1469-1703909987.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-829561" style="width:391px;height:auto" /></figure>   With 27 points, [player_tooltip player_id='356921' first='Kayce' last='Hyman'] led the way to victory for Hammond. Hyman particularly displayed how effective she is with drawing contact and getting to the free throw line as a good bit of her early production occurred at the stripe.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7486-crop-2236x1469-1703910100.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-829563" style="width:394px;height:auto" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='185222' first='Samira' last='Khalil'] had another [player_tooltip player_id='185222' first='Samira' last='Khalil']-esque game on Friday evening. Khalil added 23 points to the Skyhawks' total. She had another productive evening from behind the 3-point line as she drained five of her tries from range.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7484-crop-2236x1469-1703910206.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-829566" style="width:394px;height:auto" /></figure>   There were three 20-point scorers for this game and one of them was sporting Knights purple. [player_tooltip player_id='370267' first='Javiah' last='Martin'] concluded with exactly 20. While predominantly playing as a two, she will also find time as a wing.    [player_tooltip player_id='571845' first='Saniya' last='Williams'] contributed 11 points to the Crestwood cause. She too will also find time as a wing while also showcasing her abilities as a guard in the backcourt. Williams will also find time as a three forward.   What's Next?   Hammond's final matchup of this year's Skyhawk Holiday Classic would be against Lugoff-Elgin while Crestwood's would be with Eau Claire.

In November and December, a litany of schools host tournaments that welcome a sizable number of teams to their home courts for a few days. One of those annual tournaments emanates from the Midlands just south of downtown Columbia.