She Got Next at Lexington HS: Day One Morning Recaps

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Black Friday across most of North America means digesting Thanksgiving dinner and a mad dash to take advantage of a few sweet deals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Black Friday across South Carolina means hoops.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A grand total of 48 teams converged on the Palmetto State's Midlands to take part in one of the largest midseason tournaments of the season – She Got Next.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As always, it is put together every season by A1 Hoops Report and is one of three She Got Next-branded events throughout November, December and January. This year's rendition utilized two sites – White Knoll and Lexington.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We at Prep Girls Hoops made the trip to the home of the Wildcats for this year's festivities. Here is our recap of the two contests that took place in the morning at the main gym at Lexington.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Marlboro County vs. Cross Schools</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>She Got Next's Thanksgiving weekend event is particularly known for bringing defending champions into its field. One of those that took part was last season's SCISA 1A champions.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Stingrays were not part of last season's She Got Next festivities, but they have picked up where they left off from last season with victories over Hilton Head Christian and Hilton Head Prep. Meanwhile, Marlboro County in its season opener is looking to snap a 19-game losing streak that dates back to a second-round 3A tournament loss to Lower Richland two years ago.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Would the skid for the Bulldogs continue? The answer was yes as Cross Schools picked up the commanding 49-24 win over Marlboro County.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quarter-By-Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams looked to out-defend the other in the first quarter as points came at a premium. A total of eight points were tallied between the two teams – and they were evenly split as Marlboro County and Cross Schools were all knotted up at four apiece.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was in the second quarter when the Stingrays began resembling the defending 1A SCISA champions they are. Cross Schools outscored Marlboro County by a margin of 19-3 in the second quarter and went into halftime ahead 23-7.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cross Schools was in cruise control. Given that the Bulldogs arrived with only five players, this put Marlboro County at a huge disadvantage. It showed as 24 minutes had elapsed with the Stingrays comfortably ahead by a margin of 37-9.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The lopsided score made this one of those contests where the victor was no longer in doubt. The only thing to be decided was the final point margin. That final point margin was 25 as Cross Schools earned a 49-24 win over Marlboro County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1092471,"width":"470px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/IMG_1096.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1092471" style="width:470px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As is typically the case with Stingrays contests, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='616144' first='PJ' last='Benson']</strong> led the charge with 12 points. Benson continues to key the efforts of Cross Schools from deep. The team had four 3-pointers for the game – all of them were Benson's.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1092472,"width":"465px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/IMG_1097.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1092472" style="width:465px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As Benson once again led Cross Schools' efforts from deep, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='856286' first='Lexann' last='Maldonado']</strong> led the efforts of the Stingrays from the paint. She contributed 10 points to the Stingrays' cause. Eight of those 10 occurred in the first half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1092474,"width":"457px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/IMG_1092-2-crop-2104x1381-1732977303.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1092474" style="width:457px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The bright spot for the Bulldogs turned out to be freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1174784' first='Serenity' last='Bethea']</strong>. Out of the 24 points that were placed on the scoreboard, 13 of them were Bethea's. Did we mention she is a freshman? </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>What's Next? </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Stingrays moved on to the championship game of the Crystal Bracket while Bulldogs head to the third place contest. Their respective opponents were determined later in the day when Irmo defeated Richland Northeast. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Midland Valley vs. Greer</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the Stingrays and Bulldogs departed from the Lexington HS court, a pair of 4A schools – one from the Upper State and the other from the Lower State – had their turn at the mic.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs had a rough go of things at last season's She Got Next Thanksgiving Tournament. Midland Valley went 0-3 last year with losses to Stratford, Cardinal Newman and Strom Thurmond.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Greer defeated Denmark-Olar but lost to Trinity Collegiate at last season's She Got Next rendition. At the Coach Varner Tip-Off at Woodruff HS, the Yellow Jackets fell to Chapin and Landrum but bounced back with a win over Boiling Springs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second win of the day would be claimed by the Yellow Jackets in hard-fought fashion by virtue of their 33-32 victory over Midland Valley.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quarter-By-Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first quarter of Midland Valley vs. Greer was similar to the opening stanza of Marlboro County vs. Cross Schools – at first. It was a near-defensive stalemate before Greer began to find more success finding the basket – both from the field and at the free throw line. The Yellow Jackets had a lead of 11-4 after one quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Midland Valley's offense and defense were both clicking in the second quarter. The Mustangs began the second quarter with an 8-0 run and only held the Yellow Jackets to one field goal which occurred late that period. At the half, it was Greer 13 and Midland Valley 12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A role reversal took place in the third quarter as it would be the Yellow Jackets that outscored the Mustangs by a margin of 12-3. With one quarter remaining, Greer had built a 10-point, 25-15 edge over Midland Valley.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Yellow Jackets had a lead of 30-26 going into the final seconds, but a bucket, a steal and a bucket from the Mustangs made it all square once again at the end of regulation. Four more minutes would be needed to decide this one with Midland Valley and Greer all knotted up at 30.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And those final four minutes were very familiar to what happened in the first quarter where there was plenty of defense. For the Yellow Jackets, there was just enough offense for Greer to pull out the 33-32 victory.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1092475,"width":"400px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/IMG_1190.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1092475" style="width:400px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='371890' first='Samora' last='Moody']</strong> had to put the Yellow Jackets on her back to earn Friday's victory – and she did. She scored 22 of Greer's 33 points. Moody not only came through on offense, she did so as well on defense to create more Yellow Jackets possessions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1092477,"width":"401px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/IMG_1188-crop-2675x1756-1732977549.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1092477" style="width:401px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs had a standout that made big plays on both offense and defense as well. That standout was <strong>Trinity Madison</strong> – a sophomore guard. Madison scored nine points and many of those big plays were made in crucial moments of the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>What's Next?</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The win for Greer earned it a Pearl Bracket championship matchup with the winner of the later contest between Eau Claire and Lexington – which the Wildcats did win. Midland Valley headed to the third place game against the Shamrocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->