1/4 Region 3-AAAAA Roundup

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With New Year's celebrations in the rear view mirror, basketball teams are shifting their respective foci to January – a month where matchups against regional rivals will rule the roost.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With this being the first season following a realignment, many teams will be facing new regional rivals. That did not apply to Fort Mill and Clover.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Yellow Jackets and Blue Eagles were regional rivals prior to and after the new realignment. The new Region 3-AAAAA features more area teams such as Indian Land, Northwestern and Catawba Ridge along with returning Rock Hill and Nation Ford as opposed to Midlands teams such as Spring Valley and Blythewood.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coaches will say all the time that they will take an ugly win over a pretty loss. Eagles coach Shakkia Walker will likely describe her team's game against the Yellow Jackets as such a win – but it was a win nonetheless as Clover prevailed in a 38-32 decision over Fort Mill.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Records</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clover's win runs its overall record to 11-2. The Blue Eagles also stand atop its region at 2-0 (56-44 win vs. Rock Hill on Dec. 17). Fort Mill is now at 7-7 and is at 1-1 in region play (55-34 win vs. Catawba Ridge on Dec. 20)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Remember What Happened Last Time? </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blue Eagles and Yellow Jackets split their two matchups from last season with the road team claiming both victories. Fort mill earned the 46-45 win at Clover on Jan. 19 but the Blue Eagles picked up a 48-31 win over the Yellow Jackets when the scene shifted to Fort Mill on Feb. 6.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quarter-By-Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A contest such as this one may be a matter of if the holiday break meant more rest or rust for either team. In the case of Clover, it appeared to be the case of rest – and rust for Fort Mill. It was 13-4 in favor of the Blue Eagles after one frame.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second frame was more evenly matched even though the homestanding Blue Eagles still managed to increase its lead by one. As both teams entered their respective locker rooms to discuss second half strategy, Clover led Fort Mill by a margin of 22-12.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams struggled offensively throughout much of the first half but found a bit of a rhythm as the frame elapsed. After 24 of the 32 minutes allotted for this contest of region rivals, the Blue Eagles led the Yellow Jackets by a margin of 30-21.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Mill managed to draw to within four of Clover early in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Eagles managed to make enough plays down the stretch to secure the victory and run its winning streak to five games.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1125877,"width":"529px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2025/01/IMG_3320-crop-3226x2118-1736008610.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1125877" style="width:529px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A defensive-minded contest like this will not exactly see too much lighting up of the scoreboard. One exception for the Blue Eagles was sophomore small forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1174795' first='Olivia' last='Lewter']</strong>. She led all point-getters with 11. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1125880,"width":"526px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2025/01/IMG_3296-crop-2047x1344-1736008763.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1125880" style="width:526px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A spirited effort from 5-foot-10 senior <strong>Saylor Heberling</strong> kept the Yellow Jackets in the contest from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Heberling led the way for Fort Mill with nine points. Five of those occurred in the second half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Up Next</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 10 Clover will play at Northwestern on Tuesday while Fort Mill will host No. 7 Rock Hill that same day.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Region 3-AAAAA Scores</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Rock Hill def. Indian Land 45-40 ([player_tooltip player_id='253658' first='Aubrey' last='Stevenson'] 18 pts, Emine Hollis 12 pts, [player_tooltip player_id='452369' first='Chloe' last='Hudson'] nine points, Christian Dunbar six pts)</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Weddington (NC) def. Nation Ford 59-37</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Catawba Ridge def. Northwestern 32-20</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->