Youth Movement: Seven Eighth and Seventh Graders Impressing Early

One story of every high school girls basketball season across South Carolina is how seventh and eighth graders perform when up against more experienced competition.    Earning a varsity spot as an eighth or seventh grader is already a big deal – a sign that a program has enough confidence in someone to make said someone part of its nucleus for the next several seasons.    This season is only a few weeks old, but we at Prep Girls Hoops have already attended six early-season tournaments and showcases plus a preseason jamboree. A number of eighth and seventh graders are already displaying they belong on a high school court.     What do 5A Division 2 Indian Land, 2A Columbia, 4A Wilson and 3A Newberry have in common? All have been placed in the loss column at the hands of Singletary and her 5A Division 2 Irmo assembling as the Yellow Jackets have begun the 2025-26 season 4-0. Irmo co-hosted this year's She Got Next Thanksgiving Classic with 5A Division 1 Lexington and the Yellow Jackets made the most of that home court advantage. Singletary tallied 17 points in a 67-17 blowout of the Capitals. Irmo bested the Tigers by a final of 57-49 to win the Crystal Bracket behind a 26-point performance from Singletary.     During the offseason, Land landed several Division I offers – from App State, Georgia and Clemson. Land's 5A Division 2 Nation Ford team has dropped its first three games, but the Falcons have played a tough schedule against 4A Fountain Inn, 2A Clinton and Charlotte Latin from North Carolina. In the game with the Red Devils – one where Nation Ford had a lead at the half, Land finished with 11 points in large part by displaying her willingness to draw contact to get to the free throw line. She also made the All-Tournament team for the Vikings Showcase hosted at 5A Division 1 Spartanburg.     Alexander is a [program_tooltip program_id='783909' first='Palmetto' last='76ers/A'ja Wilson Elite'] product – and she has been playing like one in the early going for 5A Division 2 Westwood. She has earned herself starting five status with coach Gregory Bauldrick's Redhawks and is a reason why those Redhawks are 4-2 early on. Those four wins have come at the expense of one of the tougher 2A teams in the state in Burke, a 3A team in Georgetown and 4A teams Richland Northeast and Colleton County. As of this writing, Alexander is second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.2 points per game. She is also third among Westwood players in assists, averaging 1.5 per contest.     Washington and her 1A Baptist Hill team was one of several teams on hand at this year's Teresa Kendle Classic hosted at 5A Division 1 Summerville. She and her team got better as the invite progressed. The Bobcats began the weekend by being on the wrong end of a 52-15 defeat by 5A Division 2 Myrtle Beach. Washington still scored 10 points in the loss. Baptist Hill also was on the bad end of a 42-20 decision via 4A Colleton County where she tallied nine points. Baptist Hill concluded its time at The Fire House strong by way of a 51-37 win over 3A Battery Creek where Washington finished with 14 points.     There are fewer teams across the state the symbolize its depth of young talent more than SCISA 4A Ben Lippen. The Falcons are 3-1 so far and have been victorious in three of its matchups against in-state opponents (Lowcountry Wildcats, 4A public Richland Northeast, 2A public Marion). Gipson scored 15 points in the 52-39 victory over the Swamp Foxes. She also had 11 in the 44-22 win over the Cavaliers. The team's only loss thus far was a one-point defeat to Ambassador Christian out of North Carolina. Gipson has great ball-handling skills and displays leadership skills more often seen in more experienced players. She approaches every game with a great blend of confidence, tenacity and fearlessness.     Clinton – 2A Upper State finalists from last season – has re-established itself as one of the teams to beat in the 2A field. The Red Devils have earned wins so far against 2A High Point, 3A teams Union County and Chapman and 5A Division 2 Nation Ford. In the win over the Falcons at 5A Division 1 Spartanburg's Vikings Showcase, Cook tallied nine points in what was a 60-45 result. She is adding scoring depth for coach John Gardner's Clinton group and is second on the team in scoring at 12 points per game. Cook is also third on the team in rebounding (4.7 per contest) and second in assists (1.7 per matchup). Her 3.3 steals per game has her second so far among this year's Red Devils and she is tied for the clubhouse lead in blocks averaging one per contest.     Knox already received a varsity callup by coach Kenny Orr from Dutchman Creek MS to 5A Division 1 Rock Hill. As the season progresses, one can see why she will continue to receive plenty of playing time for the Bearcats. Listed at 5-foot-6, Knox is very confident in her ability to connect from long range. She fuses together super ball-handling skills with agility to find driving lanes to attack the basket. Knox is already displaying a feel for how the game is played at the high school level and that development will only continue to prove itself further as she becomes even more acclimated to high school and travel basketball.

One story of every high school girls basketball season across South Carolina is how seventh and eighth graders perform when up against more experienced competition.