First-Round Primetime Playoff Performers: Guards

The first two days of this week saw the conclusion of the first round of this year's six state tournaments throughout the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL).    What were 32-team fields in classifications 1A through 4A and 24-team fields in the two 5A divisions have been narrowed down to 16. The 2025-26 season will soon reach its apex next month.    For many a team that managed to advance to the second round, they did so because of stellar performances that occurred courtesy of their guards. Without further ado, here are 17 backcourt beasts that ensured their teams kept dancing into the second round.    Lopsided contests are most common in the first round of the playoffs. One of those lopsided get-togethers occurred in the 2A bracket when Strom Thurmond traveled to face Landrum. With a 26-point outburst from Fortner, The Cardinals successfully defended The Cage to the tune of a 73-18 victory over the Rebels. As one of the state's premier sharpshooters, one would expect for 3-pointers to be aplenty. Fortner had six of them and Landrum as a team connected on 10 of its attempts from behind the arc. Fortner already has participated in one state championship game two years ago and is in search of one more state berth in her senior season. Next up for Fortner and her Cardinals is a second-round matchup against Saluda.      From one 2A standout senior guard to another. Moorer and her Lake Marion assembling entered this year's tournament with plenty of momentum – a 12-game winning streak and going a perfect 10-0 to win its region. With 25 points, Moorer and her Gators punched their ticket to the second round with a 69-54 victory over East Clarendon. At an even six feet, Moorer stands taller than many guards which makes her particularly difficult for opposing defenses to contend with. Her performance in the matchup with the Wolverines also included nine rebounds and three steals. The victory for Moorer and her Lake Marion team earned it a second-round date with Burke.      The key to defeating 1A Latta is to keep its star veteran guard in check. That was the task that awaited Ridgeland this past Monday and the results were not to the Jaguars' liking. She dropped 25 points en route to a 59-20 victory over Ridgeland. Herman is not only the lone senior on this season's Vikings team, she is also Latta's team captain. For the season, Herman has averaged 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest. Following this win, Herman and her Vikings look to keep their winning ways going in the second round against Lake View – 1A state champions from two years ago.      The most recent 1A coaches' poll had McCormick ranked ninth. The Chiefs ran into a few early problems early on in its first-round contest against C.A. Johnson, but Maston put together a 25-point performance that lifted McCormick to a 52-42 victory over the Green Hornets. Out of the 25 she did score, 14 occurred in the second half. Maston maintains a high level of activity even when the ball is not in her hands, is comfortable in iso situations and is a fearless and ferocious attacker of the basket. Maston's performance earned the Chiefs a second-round game with the Trojans of Hunter-Kinard-Tyler.     The Knights' quest to finish the business that went unfinished last season began at home as St. Joseph's Catholic hosted Mountain View Prep – one of the state's newest schools. The first-round matchup was all Knights, all the time as the end result was 77-11 and Kelly concluded her evening with a 23-point performance. The victory for the Knights not only sent St. Joseph's Catholic to the second round but also extended the team's winning streak to 11 consecutive games. Kelly is one of two seniors – and two team co-captains – on this year's Knights team. St. Joseph's Catholic's second round matchup will be against Broome.     The Falcons of 4A A.C. Flora won Lower State two years ago and coach Jacob Thompson's core four has Forest Acres' team poised for another deep postseason run. A.C. Flora began this season's 4A tournament in commanding fashion by way of a 71-38 victory over Laurens. The 22 points Draughn tallied were the main catalyst in the Falcons' commanding win at home over the Raiders. The victory ran A.C. Flora's winning streak to six. Draughn is one of three team co-captains on this year's Falcons team – all of whom are seniors. Up next for A.C. Flora is a second-round matchup with Daniel.      On the last two occasions where Broome qualified for the 3A state tournament, both resulted in early playoff exits (Daniel in 2024, Southside Christian last season). Wofford ensured that would not be the case for the Centurions this season. This year, the Centurions' first-round draw would be Crescent and Wofford placed 21 points on the scoreboard to elevate Broome to a 62-41 victory over the Tigers. Wofford finished with a double-double which included 11 rebounds and her nine assists had her one shy of a triple-double. Broome will need a similar performance from Wofford in the second round against St. Joseph's Catholic – 3A Upper State finalists from last season.      Andrew Jackson has reigned supreme over the Palmetto State's 2A girls hoops landscape for the past couple of seasons. While many a hoops pundit believes this is the year the Volunteers could be knocked off their perch, Delly's 20 points in a dominant outing against Brashier Middle College proved exactly why Andrew Jackson was the last 2A team standing the last two seasons. The final score was an eye-popping 80-31. Coach Steven Fair's Volunteers earned a ranking of third in the most recent poll of 2A girls teams. Up next for Delly and her Andrew Jackson bunch is a second-round contest against Greenville Tech Charter.      This season's 5A Division 1 Byrnes team began its 2025-26 campaign with a 15-game winning streak, and expectations began rising for the Rebels that they could make a very deep tournament run. One has to win the first contest of a tournament to embark on said deep run and the 20 points Evans scored allowed Byrnes to earn a 64-54 victory over the Bulldogs of Boiling Springs. Evans is the lone freshman on this season's Rebels team. Byrnes will have a tough draw in the second round of the 5A Division 1 playoffs as it will be on the road at Dutch Fork this Friday.      The last time Atlantic Collegiate was placed in the loss column was in mid-December by way of Oceanside Collegiate – and that was only a two-point defeat to the Landsharks. Since then, the Armada have reeled off 15 consecutive victories – including a first-round, 77-39 victory over Manning that saw Capers lead the way with 19 points. The star Atlantic Collegiate sophomore has been the Armada's leading scorer all season, averaging 13.2 points and 1.6 steals per contest. Capers and the Armada will look to earn a sweet 16th consecutive win as Atlantic Collegiate will face off against Philip Simmons in the second round.     When one wins a state championship – as was the case for coach Byron Wimphrie and his 3A Walhalla assembling last season, said team has to expect for every opponent the following season to up its play. The Razorbacks have displayed they are ready for the challenge. Cannon led her Razorbacks with 18 points in a 58-28 victory over Carolina. Through 22 games, Cannon is the second-leading scorer for Walhalla as she has averaged 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game. The Razorbacks will resume their title defense on Saturday when they take on Southside Christian.      Timberland earned a ranking of sixth in the most recent 2A girls coaches' poll and played like a team worthy of said ranking in its first-round postseason contest against Barnwell. The Wolves routed the Warhorses with the final score being 56-10. Greene's 18 points ensured Timberland would indeed punch a ticket to the second round. She also brought down three rebounds and collected a steal. Greene is one of five on the Wolves' roster that is part of Timberland's 2026 graduating class. The Wolves have won 20 games for the first time since 2010-11 – when it won a 2A state championship. Up next for the Wolves will be a second-round contest against Kingstree.     Arguably the signature 2030 of 2030s throughout the Palmetto State, those that did not have Singletary on their radars prior to this season certainly have her on them now. Irmo's first-round draw in the 5A Division 2 tournament was Myrtle Beach. With 17 points, the Yellow Jackets were on the winning end of a low-scoring, 38-27 result over the Seahawks. Singletary has averaged 23.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.7 steals and 3.7 assists this season. The win over Myrtle Beach earned Singletary and her Irmo team a second-round get-together with defending 5A Division 2 champion Berkeley. Following this season, Singletary will be the 4A realm's problem as Irmo will move back to 4A beginning in 2026-27.     One would be hard-pressed to find a team that has put together a more stunning turnaround than 4A Midland Valley. The Mustangs only won five games last season and have been victorious in 19 in 2025-26. That 19th win occurred in a 46-41 victory in the first round of the 4A tournament over region rival South Aiken that saw Lewis lead the way with 16 points. The senior Lewis previously played at 3A Silver Bluff. Throughout the season, Lewis has averaged 7.2 points, 4.3 steals and 2.3 assists per contest. Midland Valley will have its hands full in the second round as the Mustangs square off against South Florence.      The Panthers of 1A Abbeville proved last season that they are ready to once again make waves in the realm of girls basketball. That has continued to be the case this season and that theme made its way into the 1A tournament as the Panthers' first-round contest against Blackville-Hilda was all Abbeville, all the time. The final score was 67-23 and McManus led Abbeville's charge with 16 points. McManus played her first season at the varsity level last year as an eighth grader and has averaged 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and two steals in 2025-26 for the Panthers. Up next for Abbeville is a second-round clash against North – 1A Upper State finalists from last season and the same team that eliminated the Panthers from last year's tournament.      Carvers Bay may not be the same Carvers Bay that finished 25-4 and earned a Lower State semifinal bid last season, but the Bears are still a formidable force to be reckoned with. St. John's found this out when Holmes led her Bears with 14 points to a 50-35 victory over the Islanders. Since a Feb. 5 defeat at Green Sea Floyds, Holmes and her Carvers Bay assembling have won four consecutive games – including one at Latta who won the Region 6-A championship. Holmes will look to keep the Bears winning ways alive as they will take on Bethune-Bowman in the second round.      Sullivan's Blue Ridge group entered this season's 4A tournament as a 5-seed and took on 12-seeded Richland Northeast in the first round. While the Cavaliers gave its upset bid a valiant effort, Sullivan contributed 13 points to the Tigers' cause to stave off said Richland Northeast effort. Sullivan is one of four juniors on this season's Blue Ridge team and is one of the three team co-captains. Her junior season has seen her average 7.3 points, 4.1 steals and 3.7 assists per game. The most recent 4A coaches' poll had the Tigers ranked seventh. Sullivan's performance earned Blue Ridge a second-round matchup against Camden.

The first two days of this week saw the conclusion of the first round of this year's six state tournaments throughout the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL).