Region 7-AAAA Preview

Basketball fans across South Carolina have had the days circled on their calendars for a while now when their respective teams will be tipping off the 2021-22 high school basketball seasons. Those days are drawing ever so closer. With the start of a new season on the horizon, Prep Girls Hoops is releasing comprehensive region-by-region previews, highlighting the teams and players in every region across the state to keep an eye on. One area that is bountiful in budding talent is the Lowcountry. We conclude our previews of the AAAA regions with a look at Region 7-AAAA. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="185221" first="Tacoya" last="Heyward"] – 2024 – Bluffton HS</strong> – The Bobcats were the team to beat in 7-AAAA last season, running the table with a 9-0 region record and a nine-game win streak going into last year’s playoffs. Heyward will find her way to the basket and has the ability to finish strong at the rim with her left hand. She creates plenty of problems for opponents on defense and can get out in the open floor, particularly in the transition game. She did not participate in grassroots play this spring and summer because of a toe injury, but her 2020-21 season where she averaged 12.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 steals and 4.7 assists earned her All-Region honors. <strong>Heyward is the Prep Girls Hoops Preseason Region Player of the Year. </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="261907" first="Katie" last="Rodney"] – 2024 – Bluffton HS</strong> – Riding a nine-game win streak into postseason play only to be unceremoniously bounced in the first round of the playoffs is sure to have Rodney, Heyward and the rest of coach Lonnie Roberts’ Bobcats highly motivated. Rodney has played at the varsity level since she was a seventh grader but the number of games she played in took a noteworthy jump last season. Mishandle the ball around Rodney and she is extremely likely to come away with the rock. She can get out in transition and while she has a mindset to make the extra pass, Rodney will weave her way through defenders en route to the cup. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-332613" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/09/81-Morgan-Scott-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="173002" first="Morgan" last="Scott"] – 2024 – May River HS</strong> – A common theme of this region is standout freshmen from last season coming back for more as sophomores. Scott is entering her sophomore tenure with a bit more experience than the average 2024 as she first arrived at the varsity level with May River as an eighth grader. She will play with her back to the basket and put in lots of work in the low post. Scott has no issues with absorbing her fair share of contact and makes things difficult for anyone who draws her as a defensive assignment. Scott averaged 9.8 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per contest last season for the Sharks. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-301975" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/06/CEEB7383-7745-4EFB-B624-E5A51572320B-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="265025" first="Lynda" last="Young"] – 2024 – Hilton Head HS</strong> – Prep Girls Hoops remembers seeing Young and her Seahawks team at a camp at Presbyterian College earlier this summer. She can run the floor as if she were playing as a one or two while also displaying her versatility as a wing. Another way she proves she is versatile is how she will play perimeter defense. Young provides a rebounding boost to her team and has no issues absorbing contact and heading to the free throw line. She will enter the 2021-22 season coming off last year where she averaged 12.2 points and eight rebounds per game for Hilton Head. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-303237" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/06/27818A86-7730-4377-92AC-81F35FD60B05-crop-1364x896-1625049246-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="253655" first="Andrea" last="Duncan"] – 2024 – James Island HS</strong> – Here is a name that also proves very familiar from during the offseason and travel slate as Prep Girls Hoops also noticed Duncan at a couple of events during the summer. She knows how to run an offense a take on the role of the classic floor general. Duncan can set her team up to run plays in the half court and make extra passes to keep an offense flowing. She is a proficient scorer and her offensive arsenal includes a 3-point shot. In 10 games last season, Duncan averaged 12.9 points per game. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-286321" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/BA37F7B1-DAD2-4F40-92B4-71081689396C-scaled-crop-1500x985-1621336701-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="243455" first="Virginia" last="Byrd"] – 2024 – Lucy Beckham HS</strong> – One of the newest high schools in the state, the Bengals went through its share of growing pains last season. With Byrd returning for her sophomore season, perhaps its foray into becoming a full-fledged program can go a bit smoother. She is a consistent threat to put crooked numbers on the scoreboard and can do a good deal of her scoring from 3-point land. Byrd is an accurate passer as well. She bolsters a team’s rebounding efforts and will also corral a fair number of steals. She has games where she will make big plays at clutch moments. She ran on the grassroots circuit during the spring and summer with Charleston-based TMP 16U. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="320743" first="Madisyn" last="Smith"] – 2026 – James Island HS</strong> – Whenever someone finds themselves at the varsity level prior to their freshman season, that means they will be one to watch in the coming seasons. Smith is listed at 5-foot-2, and because of that, it can be easy for some scouts to overlook her because they may view her as somewhat undersized, but she provides plenty of upside for a Trojans team that is relatively young. Between their star sophomore in Duncan and a rising star in Smith, coach Stan Wilkins looks to have an exciting Trojans team that will certainly make plenty of waves. <em><strong>Prep Girls Hoops predictions:</strong></em> May River HS – The experience the Sharks are heading into 2021-22 with will be a major asset this season. Bluffton HS – Heyward and Rodney look to be the nucleus of the team after Samari Mitchell graduated. Beaufort HS – Who will fill the void left by Layla Warren? Hilton Head HS – Russell Raniszewski will be entering his third season as Seahawks head coach. James Island HS – Coach Emily Beyoglides has had three seasons where the Trojans finished .500 – and the other two were losing campaigns. Lucy Beckham HS – The Bengals were one of the two teams last season that went winless in region play. Colleton County HS – It was not that long ago when the Cougars used to post consistent 20-win seasons.