Region 4-A Preview

In 1A girls basketball across South Carolina, four of the previous five seasons – including last year's have had the same result: Military Magnet standing at the top of the mountain.    The rest of the 1A field wants to be where coach Nathaniel Taylor's Eagles have been on four of the last five tries – including the teams that comprise Region 4-A.    The weeks and months of AAU and showcase events are soon going to give way to what will be another season of highly competitive high school girls basketball across the Palmetto State. We continue our 1A region previews with a look at Region 4-A.    Denmark-Olar   (2024-25 Record: 23-5, 11-0)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2025/02/eZy-Watermark_05-02-2025_10-48-44-9110AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1178879" style="width:548px;height:auto" /></figure>   Since the start of the decade, the Vikings have claimed three 1A Upper State championships but have consistently been denied in bids to win the big prize.    This season will be different at Denmark-Olar. Former coach Terence Jones is now bringing his coaching talents to 5A Division 2 Chapin. In addition a couple of players from last year's Vikings version followed the former coach to the Eagles' nest in addition to the three seniors that graduated.    Given the offseason it was for the Vikings, it is yet to be what sort of Denmark-Olar team we shall see this season. Will the Vikings fall back to the rest of the pack or can they still find a consistent winning formula? Denmark-Olar moved to the Lower State of 1A with reclassification last season.   Key Players:   [player_tooltip player_id='1177202' first='Kalen' last='Mayes'] can be a reason why Denmark-Olar can still make plenty of noise in the 1A ranks. In 22 of the Vikings' 28 games last season, Mayes averaged 13.9 points and 3.9 steals per contest. She is advancing into her senior season.   [player_tooltip player_id='843531' first='Joy' last='Johnson'] can be another reason why the Vikings can still be a team to be reckoned with. A 2027 two guard who stands at 5-foot-6, Johnson averaged 8.1 points, four rebounds and two steals per game.   The Vikings also have an intriguing eighth grader among its ranks. That 2030 is Zyria McMillian. She is a multi-sport athlete who also plays volleyball alongside her hoops achievements. McMillian averaged six points and 3.2 steals last season as a seventh grader.   Bamberg-Ehrhardt   (2024-25 Record: 24-4, 9-2)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/06/eZy-Watermark_08-06-2024_04-47-10-8970AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-920602" style="width:503px;height:auto" /></figure>   Those that may not have necessarily been familiar with Bamberg-Ehrhardt prior to the last couple of seasons certainly have become well acquainted with the Red Raiders as of late.    The team has finished with a combined record of 44-10 since the 2023-24 season. One thing both that team and the 2024-25 assembling have in common is that their seasons came to a halt in the second round of the 1A state tournament.    Bamberg-Ehrhardt two years ago defeated Green Sea Floyds in the first round only to lose in the ensuing matchup to Carvers Bay. The Red Raiders opened last year's playoffs with a win over St. John's only to be on the receiving end of a blowout loss to Military Magnet.    Key Players:   One important player returning for Bamberg-Ehrhardt is senior [player_tooltip player_id='840352' first='Ezariah' last='Williams'] who primarily plays in the frontcourt at the three. Williams is a multi-sport athlete who also participates in track and field events.   Another returnee for the Red Raiders is [player_tooltip player_id='848227' first='Carmyn' last='Folk']. She also typically operates at the three in the frontcourt and stands at 5-foot-8. Similar to Williams, track and field also takes up a portion of Folk's athletic plate.   Ridgeland   (2024-25 Record: 6-12, 5-5)   The split of Ridgeland and Hardeeville produced more favorable results for the Jaguars than was the case for the Hurricanes. Along with the split came the move of the Jaguars down from 2A to 1A.    Ridgeland did qualify for the 1A state tournament and did earn a victory in the first round of the playoffs over Green Sea Floyds. The Jaguars' get-together with Latta in the second round of the tournament did not go as planned.    The Jaguars hope to build on last season. Two keys will be improvement on the road – Ridgeland was 2-6 away from its home court. In addition, the Jaguars will need to improve outside of its region. Ridgeland only won one non-region game last season – the first-round tournament victory over Green Sea Floyds.    Allendale-Fairfax   (2024-25 Record: 5-15, 2-6)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7147.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-828661" style="width:491px;height:auto" /></figure>   Given who Allendale-Fairfax was graduating from its 2023-24 version, it was expected that the 2024-25 Tigers would experience a drop off.    Allendale-Fairfax went from 17 wins in 2023-24 to five victories last season. Two of those victories were over Ridgeland – the only two region wins the Tigers scored last season. Two of those victories were non-region wins at the expense of 2A Edisto. The other was against Calhoun County.   One instance where Allendale-Fairfax was not in the win column was in the first round of last season's 1A state tournament. That was when the Tigers' season came a close, suffering a blowout loss at the hands of Carvers Bay.    Key Players:   A name to keep in mind with Allendale-Fairfax is [player_tooltip player_id='585097' first='Micayah' last='Carter']. She is entering her senior season with the Tigers and her travel career has included a stint with H2 Basketball. Carter stands at 5-foot-8 and typically operates in the backcourt.   Hardeeville   (2024-25 Record: 0-13, 0-6)   The first season of Hardeeville and Ridgeland as separate schools may have had many a Hurricanes aficionado yearning for the days of the old Ridgeland-Hardeeville.    It may have had many a Hardeeville backer yearning for the days of the late 2000s when the Hurricanes were a contender in the 1A ranks. Hardeeville qualified for back-to-back 1A state championship games in 2008-09 and 2009-10 but Christ Church (now a 3A team) dashed the Hurricanes' state hopes both years.    Hardeeville is obviously a long way from those glory days of the late 2000s and is simply more in a mode of rebuilding a program back from the ground up. Among the lowlights for last season's Hurricanes were dropping both games against Ridgeland by wide margins in addition to forfeit defeats to Denmark-Olar and another assembling of Hurricanes – those of 2A Hampton County.   Royal Live Oaks Academy   The Royal Knights concluded the 2024-25 season with a record of 0-7 – including a pair of forfeit losses to Denmark-Olar and Bamberg-Ehrhardt.

In 1A girls basketball across South Carolina, four of the previous five seasons – including last year's have had the same result: Military Magnet standing at the top of the mountain.