First-Round Primetime Playoff Performers: Forwards and Centers

Tournament play in this season's South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) playoffs commenced this past Monday following the weekend where the brackets for all six classifications were released.    All six classifications are now down to their final 16 teams with tournament play resuming this coming Friday.    For many of the teams that advanced to the second round, they managed to do so because they were able to get standout performances from their threes, fours and fives. Without further ado, here is a look at those frontcourt forces that ensured their teams would begin this season's postseason in the win column.     Bostick notched a major achievement in her still relatively young high school career when she not only earned a berth on the All-Region team but was named All-Region Player of the Year (in back-to-back seasons). The Green Hornets of 4A Aiken had the misfortune of trying to contain said two-time Player of the Year in its first-round contest against South Florence. The contest was all Bruins, all the time. South Florence routed Aiken by a final score of 65-18 and Bostick finished the game with a double-double of 33 points and 10 rebounds plus four steals. She will look to continue those heroics in the second round against Midland Valley.     Kingstree may have lost out on a region championship by way of Atlantic Collegiate but that did not faze the Blazers from getting its 2A state tournament off in emphatic fashion. Its first-round opponent was Woodland and the Wolverines were no match for the Blazers. The final score was 64-18 and Shaw led the way with 28 points. Her performance also included six rebounds, six steals and five assists. She has established a profile throughout the state for being one of the more dynamic and versatile bigs with her ability to make plays in the interior and handle the rock as if she were a point guard. Up next for Shaw and her Blazers is a second-round get-together against Timberland.     There are not too many better ways to finish a high school career with an exclamation point than by saving one's best for last. Richardson was key in Aynor putting together a 20-win campaign and the 28 points she scored to dispatch Swansea continued the Blue Jackets' winning ways. Richardson primarily plays as a three forward but her versatility can give her plenty of minutes as a guard. She is averaging a double-double of 18.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game in addition to 4.2 steals and four blocks per contest. The Blue Jackets will resume tournament play in the second round against Fox Creek.     The Hurricanes of 4A Wren are concluding the second season of the Samantha Camp era. It has resulted in another tournament berth – and another first-round playoff win. The Hurricanes defeated Travelers Rest in the first round of last season's tournament and thanks to a 26-point performance from Burgess, Wren scored an 80-51 victory over Pickens. Said performance was a double-double as it also included 11 rebounds and four rebounds. Burgess and her Hurricanes move on to the second round where they will face a familiar foe – South Pointe which eliminated Wren from last season's 4A tournament.     Britt was one of several additions throughout the offseason to join coach Brandon Wallace's 4A Gray Collegiate assembling and it has paid dividends all season long. The War Eagles' first-round opponent was a familiar foe – region rival Brookland-Cayce. Gray Collegiate picked up the 58-39 victory over the Bearcats. Britt tallied 22 points en route to the War Eagles victory. She concluded her game with a double-double as she also hauled in 12 rebounds. The victory also extended the War Eagles' winning streak to six. When postseason play resumes, Gray Collegiate will host Wilson this Friday for a berth in the Lower State semifinals.     One of the more entertaining matchups of the first-round slate of games took place in the 5A Division 1 bracket when Rock Hill hosted Spartanburg. A close contest went the way of the Vikings in large part because of the double-double put forth by Spartanburg's star junior forward. Not only did she place 20 points on the scoreboard, she also grabbed 22 rebounds in addition to collecting three steals and blocking a pair of shots. Nelson's performance helped the Vikings extend its winning streak to four. Spartanburg will renew its city rivalry with Dorman on Friday in the second round of the 5A Division 1 tournament.     Ranked third only behind Westside and North Augusta in the most recent 4A coaches' poll, coach Stephanie Butler-Graham's South Pointe bunch has once again been one of the teams to beat all season long. The Stallions have not dropped a game against an in-state opponent all season long and that continued thanks to the 20 points and nine rebounds put forth by Cunningham. In addition, she joined the 2,000-point club for her career. Cunningham's performance helped South Pointe extend its winning streak to 17 games and the Stallions look to make it 18 consecutive when they host Wren on Friday.     Williams made headlines recently when she announced her commitment to USC-Salkehatchie. She made even more headlines in North's first-round postseason contest against McBee. The end result was a 58-21 victory for the Eagles over the Panthers with Williams paving the way to victory by virtue of her 20 points, five steals and four rebounds. For the season, she has averaged 15.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.3 steals per contest. The Eagles were ranked second in the most recent 1A coaches' poll and North will look to prove that ranking accurate in its second-round matchup against Abbeville.     Good things come to those who wait. Chapman – which was ranked seventh in the most recent 3A girls coaches' poll – had its first-round playoff contest against Belton-Honea Path delayed because the team originally was at the wrong school. Twitty ensured that even with the delayed tipoff that the Panthers would not be denied a berth into the second round. The final score was 55-32 and Twitty led Chapman's offensive efforts with 18 points. On Saturday, the Panthers will return to action for its second-round matchup against Christ Church. Once the season concludes for Chapman, Twitty will transition to her collegiate life at Columbia International University.     For the last several seasons, any 1A team looking to win state has had to go through coach Nathaniel Taylor's Military Magnet bunch. If the Eagles' 89-4 rout of Johnsonville was any indication, that may be the case once again. Williams' all-around performance included 17 points, eight rebounds, eight steals and five assists. The lopsided result extended the Eagles winning streak to eight. Williams is the lone senior on this season's Eagles version. She has already won three state championships during her time at Military Magnet and bringing a fourth trophy to Carver Avenue would be a fitting way to close her high school career.     Since a Jan. 14 defeat to region rival South Florence, Wilson has put together a 10-game win streak. Murray has, once again, been at the nucleus of the Tigers' winning ways. Wilson shared the same court with Colleton County for the first round of the 4A state tournament and her 15-point, nine-rebound showing helped prolong the Tigers' season and give the Cougars an early playoff exit. A two-sport athlete who also excels as a volleyball player, she is one of four juniors on this year's Wilson team with coach Ki'Ari Cain completed her first season at the helm. Wilson will meet up with Gray Collegiate in the second round of the 4A tournament.     The ageless coaching wonder that is Paul Runey once again has Bishop England in the contenders' chat. The Bishops drew region rival May River in the first round of the 4A state tournament and Allen's 16 points led Bishop England to another win. The versatile junior Bishops star is not only the leading rebounder for the team (averaging 8.1 per game), but she also leads Bishop England in assists and in steals. She is one of seven juniors on what is a very veteran-laden Bishops squad. Bishop England will be on the road for its second-round contest against another region rival in Beaufort.     It was on Jan. 20 when Hunter-Kinard-Tyler was on the road at region rival North and was on the wrong end of a close 41-38 defeat to the Eagles. Since then, the Trojans have been in the win column on eight consecutive occasions – including this past Monday when Hunter-Kinard-Tyler routed Thornwell with the final score being 68-26. Sampson finished Monday's matchup with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds plus three blocks. Sampson is in her second season at the varsity level with the Trojans as she played last season as an eighth grader. Up next for Hunter-Kinard-Tyler is a second-round get-together with McCormick.     Coach Lewis Mungo's 4A Camden bunch dropped a couple of games late in the season to region rivals (South Pointe, A.C. Flora) but righted the ship just in time for postseason action. The Bulldogs hosted Seneca in the first round of this year's 4A playoffs and the 16 points placed on the scoreboard by Rush led to a 73-25 win to dispatch the Bobcats. Rush, one of six juniors on this year's Camden team, has averaged 11.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.9 steals in the 24 games she has played. Fourth-ranked in the most recent 4A girls coaches' poll, Rush and her Bulldogs will face off against Blue Ridge in the second round.     To say that Philip Simmons had a tough draw in Hampton County to open this year's 2A tournament would be an understatement. Working in the Iron Horses' favor was that they had won five of their seven home matchups entering Tuesday's play and their sixth home victory – a 52-38 win over the Hurricanes – earned Philip Simmons a berth to the second round. Holmes led the Iron Horses' efforts with 13 points. Holmes is not only the team's leading scorer but she leads the team in blocks and is also second among this season's Philip Simmons participants in rebounding. The Iron Horses will take on Atlantic Collegiate in the second round.

Tournament play in this season's South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) playoffs commenced this past Monday following the weekend where the brackets for all six classifications were released.