Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational: Thursday’s Results

While a number of teams are enjoying extended breaks throughout the holidays, that did not apply to several (mostly) 1A schools that converged on the CSRA for a post-Christmas mid-season tournament.    Blackville-Hilda once again hosted its annual Hawk Invitational in the final days of December. This year's rendition was a bit smaller than last year's which featured a grand total of 10 matchups on the first day – as well as teams from the 3A (Swansea) and 5A (White Knoll) ranks. Simply because there may have been seven games on that first day does not mean the competition level decreased.    We at Prep Girls Hoops made our annual trip down to Blackville-Hilda for the day's games. Here is our recap of the three girls games that took place at the Hawks' nest.    Barnwell vs. Williston-Elko   The first game on the schedule was supposed to feature Hunter-Kinard-Tyler and Bamberg-Ehrhardt but a change on the schedule allowed for a pair of in-county teams to have first dibs.   Barnwell is a 2A school – and the Warhorses have had their fair share of hard luck as of late. The Warhorses were not part of last season's Hawk Invitational but only won two games last season – one of which was at Blackville-Hilda's expense. The other was against Wagener-Salley.    As for Williston-Elko, it went 2-2 at last season's Hawk Invitational. Both defeats came against host school Blackville-Hilda. Along with the win over Ridge Spring-Monetta, the Blue Devils also scored a victory over Pelion.   The first win of this season's Hawk Invitational would go to Williston-Elko in commanding fashion. The Blue Devils defeated the Warhorses with the final score being 50-16.   Remember What Happened Last Time?   Williston-Elko remembers. Barnwell would rather not. The matchup at the Hawk Invitational between the Warhorses and Blue Devils was a rematch of an earlier contest between the two groups on Dec. 18 at Barnwell. The Blue Devils won – once again – in a rout via a 49-19 decision.    Quarter-By-Quarter   The first quarter foretold the possibility that a repeat performance from that Dec. 18 get-together was in the cards. A well-executed game plan by Williston-Elko on both offense and defense led to an 11-1 lead over Barnwell following the first quarter.    A similar theme continued into the second quarter as the Warhorses continued to have no answers for the Blue Devils. As halftime arrived, Williston-Elko was cruising – ahead by a margin of 30-5 over Barnwell.    Barnwell had its best offensive frame in the third quarter but it was nowhere close to matching what Williston-Elko had put together throughout the first three stanzas. The scoreboard read 41-14 in the Blue Devils' favor with three complete.    It became one of those games where it was not a matter of who would win, but what the final point margin would be. Williston-Elko continued to display that it had the number of Barnwell by virtue of its 34-point victory.    Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7001-1.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-828638" style="width:426px;height:auto" /></figure>   An all-around dominant effort by the Blue Devils was keyed by the play of [player_tooltip player_id='843526' first='Jada' last='Wilson']. Part of Williston-Elko's talented veteran core, the senior led all scorers with 12 points. Her interior play was especially effective.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7003.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-828640" style="width:428px;height:auto" /></figure>   Another senior – Madison Wright – also fueled the Blue Devils offensive attack with an 11-point performance. Wright's athletics career has also seen her participate in track and field events alongside her basketball achievements.   Up Next   Williston-Elko's win advanced it into the winner's bracket where it would await its next opponent. Barnwell would be the first team to fill the consolation bracket where it would await which team came out on the losing end of a later contest between Allendale-Fairfax and host Blackville-Hilda. As for the Blue Devils, the next girls game of the day would determine its Friday foe.    Ridge Spring-Monetta vs. Bamberg-Ehrhardt   Following a boys contest between Williston-Elko and Andrew Jackson Academy, centerstage once again belonged to the girls.    Last season at the Hawk Invitational, Ridge Spring-Monetta finished 1-2 with one of those defeats coming courtesy of Williston-Elko – a team the Trojans have not won against since Jan. 2022. Ridge Spring-Monetta also lost at last season's event to another group of Trojans – those of Hunter-Kinard-Tyler with the lone win coming against 2A Pelion.    While Bamberg-Ehrhardt did not take part in last season's Hawk Invitational, the Red Raiders have established themselves as one of the teams to beat in 1A play. Bamberg-Ehrhardt's only loss of the season thus far came to Northside Christian at the GRAD Athletics Thanksgiving Tournament at Heathwood Hall.    Would the Red Raiders' positive fortunes continue? The answer was yes as Bamberg-Ehrhardt would pick up a dominant 73-25 victory over Ridge Spring-Monetta.    Remember What Happened Last Time?   It was in five years to the day in 2019 when Ridge Spring-Monetta and Bamberg-Ehrhardt last were on the same court together. The Trojans fondly remember that day as they managed a 44-29 victory over the Red Raiders.   Quarter-By-Quarter   Bamberg-Ehrhardt came into Friday's contest the No. 7-ranked team among 1A girls groups across the state. The Red Raiders played like it in the first quarter – in large part because of a barrage of 3-pointers. It was 22-6 in favor of Bamberg-Ehrhardt after the first quarter.    The Red Raiders continued to overwhelm the Trojans on both offense and defense with Ridge Spring-Monetta having zero answers. As halftime had arrived, Bamberg-Ehrhardt's lead was 44-8.   An offensive onslaught continued into the third quarter. Ridge Spring-Monetta vs. Bamberg-Ehrhardt was looking more and more like a mismatch as the contest wore on. It was 64-16 to the Red Raiders advantage after three.    This one was following the same theme as the first girls matchup of the day – where the victor was not in doubt in the fourth quarter – only the final score. Bamberg-Ehrhardt in the fourth quarter would put the finishing touches on a 48-point victory.   Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/12/IMG_2658-crop-3059x2008-1735288620.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1120847" style="width:490px;height:auto" /></figure>   When one player has more points as an entire team, said winning team knows it had a great day at the office. That was the case for [player_tooltip player_id='1121267' first='Raven' last='Brown'] of Bamberg-Ehrhardt who drained seven 3-pointers for a grand total of 32 points.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/12/IMG_2692-crop-2131x1399-1735288739.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1120849" style="width:493px;height:auto" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='766375' first='Taylah' last='Leaphart'] had a spirited game for Ridge Spring-Monetta. The court at Blackville-Hilda may have been a house of horrors for the Trojans against the Red Raiders, but Leaphart still mustered a 10-point effort.   Up Next   Up next for Bamberg-Ehrhardt is a Friday contest with Williston-Elko. The Blue Devils' earlier win over Barnwell means the Warharks will face Ridge Spring-Monetta that same day. That game's winner will get Blackville-Hilda that same day.   Allendale-Fairfax vs. Blackville-Hilda   After a boys contest that saw Clear Dot Charter take on Barnwell, it was time for the final girls contest of the day's play. And, as expected, it featured the host school.    The host Hawks finished 2-1 at last season's tournament with both wins coming against Williston-Elko. The lone loss was to 5A White Knoll.    As for Allendale-Fairfax, the Tigers did participate in last season's Hawk Invitational – and its time there included an emphatic defeat to Denmark-Olar.    Would Blackville-Hilda successfully defend its home court at its own tournament? The answer was no. The scoreboard read emphatically in Allendale-Fairfax's favor over Blackville-Hilda when the clock struck triple-zeroes.    Remember What Happened Last Time?   Blackville-Hilda and Barnwell became very familiar with each other earlier this month on Dec. 16. The Warhorses eked out a 32-31 win over the Hawks.   Quarter-By-Quarter   The Blackville-Hilda team that competed at this year's rendition of the Hawk Invitational resembled nothing like the Blackville-Hilda team that was on the court for last season's version. Allendale-Fairfax pitched a 19-0 shutout on the host Hawks in the first quarter.    The theme of girls games concluding in routs appeared to continue with Allendale-Fairfax vs. Blackville-Hilda. As halftime arrived, the Tigers built a commanding 31-2 advantage over the Hawks.    There are blowouts – and then there are blowouts where the clock starts to continuously turn in the third quarter. That was the case for Allendale-Fairfax in the third quarter as this game was all Tigers, all the time.   Williston-Elko and Bamberg-Ehrhardt had already won their contests going away. The final girls game of the day's play would see Allendale-Fairfax do the same. The Tigers not only won – they won going away.   Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/12/IMG_2770.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1120850" style="width:488px;height:auto" /></figure>   Every offensive outburst needs someone to key it. For the Tigers, that turned out to be the job of sophomore shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='1318828' first='Amyah' last='Badger']. She finished with 13 points. The only two 3-pointers made by Allendale-Fairfax departed from the hands of the sophomore.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/12/IMG_2772.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1120851" style="width:488px;height:auto" /></figure>   Speaking of guards, backcourt depth was provided in the form of senior Rhianna Deloach. She added 10 points to the Tigers total. Deloach gave Allendale-Fairfax plenty of productive minutes off the bench.   Up Next   Allendale-Fairfax's win earned it an automatic berth in the tournament's championship game where its opponent would be determined between Williston-Elko and Bamberg-Ehrhardt. As for Blackville-Hilda, next on the Hawks' schedule was a get-together with the winner of a Friday game between Barnwell and Ridge Spring-Monetta.

While a number of teams are enjoying extended breaks throughout the holidays, that did not apply to several (mostly) 1A schools that converged on the CSRA for a post-Christmas mid-season tournament.