Beach Ball Classic: Up-and-Coming Talents

December may not necessarily be a month one associates with beach weather – but it is certainly a month one associates with basketball.    One of the larger showcases across the Palmetto State that occurs in the home half of December is the Beach Ball Classic. This past weekend saw the girls' portion of the event emanate from the John T. Rhodes Sports Center and the Myrtle Beach Convention Center with the boys half taking place closer to New Year's Day.    We at Prep Girls Hoops were on site for the day's festivities. Without further ado, here are those who brought grand performances to the Grand Strand.     Hubbard was part of the starting five for 5A Division 2 Socastee against 4A Gray Collegiate. The War Eagles are one of the toughest outs in the state, but Hubbard's 11 points kept Socastee in the contest from start to finish. Hubbard may be a freshman but she is already proving that she is more than worthy of starting minutes. She can stay active away from the ball on the offensive side and the midrange jumper is a favorite shot of hers. As someone who primarily plays in the frontcourt, Hubbard also understands that comes with physicality and getting to the free throw line.      In hard-fought contests against good teams, a team needs all the production it can get against a top-tier foe. The War Eagles of 4A Gray Collegiate got that from Gartmon as her 17 points made a massive difference in a tough contest against 5A Division 2 Socastee. Gray Collegiate earned a 63-53 win over the Braves. Defensively, Gartmon will play defense on the perimeter and her length can particularly make things difficult as she keeps her arms outstretched on the defensive side of the floor. Late in the contest with the Braves, she found success from deep as she drained a few 3-pointers from the corner.       Aficionados of 5A Division 2 Socastee get a good glimpse of its present and its immediate future whenever the Braves play. Sumter represents that immediate future for the Braves. In Friday's Beach Ball contest against 4A Gray Collegiate, Sumter concluded the contest with 12 points. A threat to put a pair of points on the board whenever she is near the rim, it appears she did just that whenever she had the rock in the interior. Some of those two-point putbacks also occur on the heels of an offensive rebound. This is Sumter's second season playing at the varsity level after playing as an eighth grader in 2024-25.      Gipson's SCISA 4A Ben Lippen team may have been on the receiving end of a come-from-behind bid courtesy of 5A Division 1 Fort Dorchester. While the Patriots earned the 41-40 victory, Gipson still put forth a winning performance with a 24-point effort. Gipson established herself early and often from behind the 3-point arc as she connected on four of her tries from deep – all on the wing. Out of the 24 she finished with, 12 occurred in the first quarter of play. Gipson also displays leadership skills not always seen in seventh grader and is as much a problem for opponents as a defender as she is with the ball in her hand.      Ferrell is one of four sophomores on this season's 5A Division 1 Fort Dorchester squad. She was part of a stout defensive effort that led to the Patriots rallying from behind to earn a 41-40 win over SCISA 4A Ben Lippen. Ferrell finished with 10 points. The Patriots may have only connected on three 3-pointers for what was a low-scoring contest but two of them were courtesy of Ferrell. Her accuracy from deep is indicative of a two guard but Ferrell can also find minutes at the wing. Ferrell also thrives as a transition playmaker that can get downhill with the ball in her hands in a hurry.      The Diamond Hornets of 4A Lower Richland are continuing its winning ways under coach Morgan Stroman. Dingle has established herself as a player to watch and continued to do so with a nine-point performance against one of the toughest teams to beat in the state in 5A Division 1 Wando. Dingle's active hands as a defender can make handling the ball difficult for any opposing ball carrier. On an opposing free throw attempt, Dingle will be ready to box out in case that try from the charity stripe is missed. It may be conventional to think Dingle is undersized for a forward, but she has the skill to play as a three or four.     After playing in 26 games last season as an eighth grader, McKevitt has embraced a “next woman up” mentality for 5A Division 1 Wando. Lower Richland is one of the tougher 4A outs in the state, but McKevitt's 20 points ensured the Warriors would run its record to 9-1. McKevitt will find herself at the right spots to grab rebounds and understands that ball distribution is every bit as important as placing points on the scoreboard. She is one of the two freshman on this season's Warriors roster. The speed she possesses will enable her to finish strong at the rim and can give her plenty of opportunities at the free throw line.     As Reynolds has obtained more experience playing at the high school level, her numbers have only improved. The Warriors of 5A Division 1 Wando drew a tough draw on Friday in 4A Lower Richland but the 11 points she contributed to Wando's cause ensured it was pass the test posed by the Diamond Hornets. Reynolds plays with a high basketball IQ and can play effective defense in the interior even though she is listed as a 5-foot-10 guard. Defensively, she will collect a large number of steals in addition to setting herself up to haul in a high number of rebounds.     A contest between one of 4A's best and one of 5A Division 1's best resembled exactly that. The Lower Richland-Wando get-together went the way of the Warriors but only by a margin of 59-55. Goodwin would lead all Lower Richland scorers with 14 points. A 5-foot-11 sophomore big, Goodwin is quickly making a name for herself as a reliable scorer and a reliable rebounder. She is a transfer to Lower Richland from another 4A school in Brookland-Cayce and previously played volleyball during her time as a Bearcat. That height combined with skill translates well to both athletic disciplines.     Jay played in 18 games last season for the Diamond Hornets as a freshman and is back for more in 2025-26. Even though 4A Lower Richland was barely on the bad end of a 59-55 decision to 5A Division 1 Wando, Jay's 13 points had to have impressed first-year coach Morgan Stroman. The Diamond Hornets connected on four 3-point attempts throughout the hard-fought contest with the Warriors – three were courtesy of Jay. She is one of six sophomores on this season's Lower Richland roster. During the spring and summer months of travel ball, she has worn the uniform of [program_tooltip program_id='903656' first='Lady' last='TUSC'].     Wando – ranked seventh in the most recent 5A Division 1 coaches poll – faced one of its stiffest tests this season – a 4A Lower Richland team that also earned a top 10 ranking in its poll. Thanks to 11 points from the Warriors sophomore, Wando ran its record to 9-1. In addition to what she gets accomplished on the basketball court, Crawford plays for Wando's varsity volleyball team as a right side and middle hitter. Basketball-wise, many an offensive possession has been created off of her steals and many an offensive possession has been create off of her rebounding. Crawford also does not shy away from contact that can place her at the free throw line.     In her sophomore season, Rogers has developed into the featured player for coach Gregory Bauldrick's 5A Division 2 Westwood team. Two games were on the Redhawks' schedule for Friday – including one against a Virginia team in Deep Creek. Rogers concluded her day with a 16-point performance against the Hornets. That development has included the ability to score at all three levels. Rogers will find time either in the backcourt as a shooting guard, in the frontcourt as a small forward or on the wing. Getting out in transition is another strong element to Rogers' skillset. Rogers also turned in an 18-point showing earlier that day against another 5A Division 2 team in St. James.     Whenever Alexander is on a basketball court, fans of 5A Division 2 Westwood get a glimpse of the bright immediate future the Redhawks have. Even though the first day of this year's Beach Ball Classic saw the Redhawks finish 0-2, Alexander finished with eight points against Deep Creek – a team from Virginia. There is a reason why [program_tooltip program_id='783909' first='Palmetto' last='76ers/A'ja Wilson Elite'] wanted her in their uniform during the spring and summer AAU months. Alexander will collect her fair share of steals, understands the art of making plays in transition and can either attack the rim or drain 3-point attempts. She had another eight-point showing against 5A Division 2 St. James.

December may not necessarily be a month one associates with beach weather – but it is certainly a month one associates with basketball.