2022/2023: Pee Dee Girls All-Star Game

Wilson High School in Florence was the site of an exciting Saturday afternoon and evening of basketball as plenty of the top players from across the region convened for the Pee Dee All-Star Game. The first girls game that took place featured several from the junior and sophomore classes with a white team and black team. The white team, coached by Kevin Robinson at West Florence, won a lopsided contest over the black team, coached by Justin Johnson at Hartsville with the final tally being 69-41. We at Prep Girls Hoops were on hand in Florence to take in the festivities. Here is a look at which from the classes of 2022 and 2023 had impressive performances. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-269096" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/04/A23A6082-B5DE-4310-AD81-1CA6B08D03BF.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124090" first="Talaysia" last="Cooper"] – White Team – East Clarendon HS</strong> – Some players pass a certain portion of the eye test where it appears they are in control of a game whenever the ball is in their hands. Cooper is one of those players. Cooper excels on both the offensive and defensive sides of the floor, via her ability to intercept passes as well as setting up an offense in the half court. She is also effective in a full court offense with her speed and knack for getting from one of the floor to the other in transition situations. Cooper led all scorers with 23 and won MVP honors in addition. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171783" first="Elriyonna" last="Johnson"] – Black Team – Wilson HS</strong> – Points came at a premium for coach Johnson’s black team, but when those scores were made, it was often one of his team’s stars with an identical last name that put those points on the board. Not only that, but those points came off of the bench. Along with displaying impressive ball carrying prowess, Johnson particularly showed a proficiency in being accurate with her 3-point jumper. Out of the nine treys collective that were made by the white team, Johnson had four of those. And out of those four, three of them occurred in the second half. Being a Tiger herself, the sophomore Johnson is very familiar with the hoops venue at Wilson High and it showed on Saturday by evidence of her 14-point outing. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-269120" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/04/813A2A09-2395-4C5A-989A-047A9255BBEC.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="206609" first="Mingaile" last="Urmuleviciute"] – White Team – Trinity Collegiate</strong> – This past season was the first in which the South Carolina girls basketball scene became well acquainted with this rising star out of Lithuania. Trinity Collegiate fans had to like what they saw. Urmuleviciute scored the first two points of the white team’s All-Star matchup with the black team then upped her point output a bit more following that first basket. She also displayed plenty of defensive attributes such as shot blocking which is something one hopes to have if they are 6-foot-4 as she is listed. Urmuleviciute possesses a great deal of court vision, will set screens, has a soft touch near the basket and will also try shots from long range. One of her made baskets was a 3-point shot and Urmuleviciute concluded her afternoon with 15 points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="173097" first="Albany" last="Wilson"] – Black Team – South Florence HS</strong> – Appropriately, someone with the last name of Wilson balled out at a game being held at a Wilson High School. She came off the bench for coach Johnson’s black team and showed she was not afraid to try opportunities from downtown. She also showcased what she could get done on defense. Wilson was versatile in the ways she managed to score as she knocked down a 3-point jumper (which first got her on the scoreboard), added some two-pointers and made a couple of her free throw attempts in the second half. Wilson concluded her afternoon with an 11-point output as she was one of only two on the black team’s roster that finished with a double-digit scoring performance. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269100" first="Adaiah" last="Vereen"] – White Team – North Myrtle Beach HS</strong> – Throughout the first half of play, it became apparent that coach Robinson’s white team was poised to finish the game with a rout of the black team unless the latter went on a scoring binge in the second half. That run did not occur – and Vereen was a big part of why the first half had such a lopsided outcome. Vereen, also coming off the bench, displayed a knack for being able to try tough shots against a slew of defenders. She was one of the white team’s players that paced its first half scoring success as she already had six points prior to halftime. Vereen concluded with eight. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-269095" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/04/1708D33D-64CC-45B3-9988-3A5204A64C2B.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171767" first="Kindan" last="Dawson"] – Black Team – Hartsville HS</strong> – Have the ball? Will shoot from long range and will hit from long range. While the black team was unable to make things interesting, the second half was more evenly contested than the opening frame. One reason for that is Dawson managed to drain shots from behind the arc in the latter 20 minutes of play. Dawson was also not afraid to attract contact and find her way to the free throw line. She was the only other player on the black team outside of Johnson with more than one made shot from 3-point land and was one of two starters that did not have a foul called against her. Dawson finished with seven points.