Region 5-AAAA Preview: Lower Richland vs. the Pee Dee

November is the month where one begins to see holiday decorations throughout our neighborhoods.    November is the month where one starts to see the picturesque sights of Fall foliage on trees. This is especially a sight to behold in the Upstate.   And November is the month where high school basketball courts draw the foci of many a sports fan.    Throughout the last few weeks, Prep Girls Hoops has released comprehensive region previews with in-depth analysis of teams and players of every team in the Palmetto State.    We recently shifted our focus to the Lower State of 4A and continue that same emphasis by breaking down Region 5-AAAA.    Lower Richland   (2024-25 Record: 25-2, 12-0)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/eZy-Watermark_30-11-2024_11-02-46-5880PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1092937" style="width:596px;height:auto" /></figure>   Throughout its history, a grand total of seven state championships have made its way to The Creek with its most state victory occurring in 2012-13. The Diamond Hornets have certainly had the talent in recent years to bring an eighth championship to Lower Richland but have constantly been denied.    Last season was another of those years as the Diamond Hornets did not drop a matchup against an in-state opponent until its 4A Lower State championship contest against North Augusta. Lower Richland defeated Gilbert, Darlington and Bishop England prior to that contest against the Yellow Jackets.   A new name will be in charge at The Diamond Mine. Morgan Stroman has been brought in to replace Aaron Lucas who took the job at 5A Division 1 Ridge View.    Key Players:   One more season awaits in Lower Richland black and gold for [player_tooltip player_id='405364' first='Jhnai' last='Sumter'] who played in all 27 games last season for the Diamond Hornets. Sumter averaged 13.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.6 steals per game.   [player_tooltip player_id='875403' first='Mikayla' last='Foster'] will be in her junior season this year at Lower Richland. The talented 2027 shooting guard also played in all 27 games last season. Foster, who first played varsity as an eighth grader, averaged 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals a game.   A sophomore name to watch this season is [player_tooltip player_id='885798' first='Ti'Nya' last='Isaac']. She is another who saw playing time in all 27 of the Diamond Hornets' contests last season. Isaac stands at 5-foot-7 and primarily plays as a small forward.   Wilson   (2024-25 Record: 19-9, 8-4)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/eZy-Watermark_30-11-2024_11-01-58-3300PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1092940" style="width:609px;height:auto" /></figure>   Wins have been plentiful at Wilson the last several years. Following a brief lull in the early portions of the decade, it was the 2022-23 season where many across the state realize the Tigers were still a force to be reckoned with.    Wilson has won a combined total of 54 games the last three seasons – including 19 each in the previous two. The Tigers won its first round 4A state tournament game against South Aiken before suffering a close defeat to Gray Collegiate in the second round.    In addition to the four seniors that graduated from last season's team, Wilson also lost one of its premier players to Trinity Collegiate of the SCISA ranks. Wilson hired former Newberry College assistant Ki'Ari Cain as its new coach.    Key Players:   A number of seniors will make up the nucleus of everything Wilson this season. One of those upperclassmen is [player_tooltip player_id='576593' first='Zoey' last='Miller'] who averaged 13.3 points, 2.9 steals and 2.8 assists last season as a junior.   Another upperclassman is [player_tooltip player_id='800458' first='Leah' last='Spears'] who, like Miller, played in all 28 games last season for the purple and gold. Spears primarily plays at point guard and averaged 6.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 steals in 2024-25.   A third senior one must watch out for is [player_tooltip player_id='610466' first='Jordan' last='Nelson']. She spent her final season on the AAU circuit running with SC Future. Nelson particularly bolsters a team's rebounding efforts as a 5-foot-11 power forward.   South Florence   (2024-25 Record: 16-9, 8-4)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/06/eZy-Watermark_19-06-2024_09-15-44-7600PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-934029" style="width:626px;height:auto" /></figure>   Many a purist had an issue with South Florence remaining in 4A while West Florence moved up to 5A but that is the way the realignment carousel spun.   The Bruins' 2024-25 was an improvement over its 2023-24 where the team played .500 basketball and was only 4-6 against region opponents. South Florence had split its first two games earlier in the season with Darlington only for the Falcons to dispatch the Bruins in the first round of the 4A state tournament.    David Robinson has been the head coach at South Florence since the 2020-21 pandemic year. Only one senior graduated from last season's team.    Key Players:   One of the state's premier freshmen proudly sports the South Florence colors. That 2029 is [player_tooltip player_id='800460' first='Harmony' last='Bostick'] who is a multi-sport athlete who also plays volleyball in addition to her hoops achievements. Bostick averaged 14.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals.   Speaking of multi-sport athletes who play both volleyball and basketball, that description also fits [player_tooltip player_id='1318806' first='Allyson' last='Watson']. Standing at 5-foot-6, Watson average 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 steals in 2024-25.   [player_tooltip player_id='662509' first='Amari' last='Gamble'] played in a total of 25 games last season for the Bruins. Gamble was one of the leading rebounders for South Florence last season as she pulled down 7.4 boards per contest. Gamble is beginning her junior season.   Rebounding depth was also provided by another 2027 in A'Niya Perkins. She stands at 5-foot-10 and she averaged 4.5 boards per contest. Perkins primarily operates in the frontcourt as a more traditional big.   Darlington   (2024-25 Record: 16-10, 7-5)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/12/eZy-Watermark_28-12-2024_08-02-05-1750AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1121281" style="width:638px;height:auto" /></figure>   Given its archrival Hartsville was already a 4A team, it was only fitting Darlington would move up from 3A to 4A in the latest round of realignment.    One must remember that the Falcons' last season in 3A before going to 4A saw Darlington in the Lower State championship game where they ran into the juggernaut that was Camden. In 2024-25, the Falcons won its first-round postseason contest against South Florence before its season came to a close by way of Lower Richland.    The 2025-26 season will be the fifth for Shaniqua Bennett as head coach of Darlington. Last season's team graduated four seniors.    Key Players:   [player_tooltip player_id='445531' first='Autumn' last='Joseph'] will soon begin her senior season wearing Darlington's signature purple hue. Joseph is a double-double threat on a game-by-game basis and is one of many unsigned seniors throughout the Palmetto State.   Joseph represents the present of the Darlington program and [player_tooltip player_id='897294' first='Aaliyah' last='Woodham'] denotes the immediate future for the Falcons. She put together one of the signature freshman seasons of anyone statewide.   As is the case with Joseph, Camille McAllister is another who is part of Darlington's 2026 graduating class. McAllister has maintained a busy athletic schedule between basketball, volleyball and softball.   This season will be the junior campaign for [player_tooltip player_id='831287' first='Yasmine' last='Douglas'] who primarily plays at the two but can also spend some time at the three. She too keeps an active athletic schedule as she plays softball in addition to basketball.   Crestwood   (2024-25 Record: 8-16, 4-8)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/12/IMG_2165.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1117733" style="width:633px;height:auto" /></figure>   Out of the seven teams that comprise Region 5-AAAA, four of them moved up to 4A from 3A. Crestwood is one of those teams.    After a number of seasons where the Knights won at least 10 games in every year outside of the 2020-21 pandemic year, the 2024-25 campaign represented a bit of reversion for Crestwood. The Knights still did earn one of the 32 berths into the 4A state tournament, but Gray Collegiate brought about an abrupt end to Crestwood's season in the first round of the postseason.    A bevy of seniors graduated from coach Shaquanda Miller-McCray's team last year – seven in total.    Key Players:   [player_tooltip player_id='929458' first='Javiah' last='Martin'] is part of the 2026 Crestwood graduating class. Martin stands at 5-foot-6 and averaged 9.3 points, three rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest. She saw playing time in 24 games in 2024-25.   Another name that will be participating with Crestwood's graduating class this year is Diamond Covington. She was one of the Knights' leading rebounders from last season, grabbing 4.2 per game in 26 games.   Lakewood   (2024-25 Record: 10-16, 3-9)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/10/IMG_0210.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1048657" style="width:625px;height:auto" /></figure>   Lakewood was the fourth of those four teams from this region to ascend from the 3A classification into the 4A ranks.    Prior to last season, the Gators had not won at least 10 games in one campaign since 2016-17 when Lakewood won exactly 10 contests. The Gators were also a 4A team that year. Last season's Lakewood team did have a promising start to the year at 6-3 prior to the holiday break.    The Gators' season came to an end by way of North Augusta in the first round of last season's 4A state tournament. A change was made at the top as Indya Zimmerman was promoted from assistant to head coach.    Key Players:   Lauryn Nesmith is returning for her sophomore season with the Gators after playing in 23 games as a freshman. In those 23 contests, Nesmith posted averages of 8.4 points and 1.7 steals.   [player_tooltip player_id='1048647' first='Camorri' last='Glenn'] is also part of Lakewood's 2028 class. Glenn spearheads what the Gators look to get accomplished in the interior. She played in 18 games last season and averaged 6.7 points and 5.4 rebounds.   Shareanna McFadden is part of Lakewood's 2026 graduating class. The upperclassman McFadden is listed at 5-foot-9. She was one of the team's leading rebounders last season averaging 3.5 per game.   Hartsville   (2024-25 Record: 6-18, 0-12)   Excluding the 2020-21 pandemic year, the last time the Red Foxes did not qualify for the state tournament was the season prior to the pandemic year.    That was before last season when a dreadful region showing meant Hartsville's season ended in early February as opposed to later in the month. The 2024-25 season was one of change for Hartsville as Andre Hooks assumed the reins as Red Foxes head coach.    Two of last season's Hartsville victories occurred against Lamar and the Red Foxes did earn an overtime victory over Cheraw.    The Red Foxes' most recent state triumphs occurred in 1985-86, 1989-90 and in 1991-92 during the Pat Hewitt days.    Key Players:   Zenaria Gibson played in 24 games last season as a sophomore. Gibson is listed at 5-foot-3 and primarily plays as a two in the backcourt. She averaged 6.7 points and 2.6 steals per contest in 2024-25.   [player_tooltip player_id='662510' first='Ariel' last='Leatch'] is part of the Red Foxes' 2027 class. She is listed at 5-foot-7 and typically plays in the frontcourt as a power forward. Leatch was one of the primary rebounders from last season averaging 3.8 per game. Leatch competes in soccer as a goalkeeper alongside basketball.

November is the month where one begins to see holiday decorations throughout our neighborhoods.