Lower Richland HS vs Dreher HS

Lower Richland’s Diamond Hornets ran its winning streak to four consecutive games on Friday night after taking to the road and defeating Dreher in what was an emphatic showing in Columbia. The Diamond Hornets ran its record on the young season up to 5-1 with its only blemish coming against Cardinal Newman. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils remain in search of its first victory of the 2021-22 season following this defeat and back-to-back losses to Dutch Fork. Lower Richland faced off against Gray Collegiate the following Saturday while Dreher will host Newberry on Tuesday. Prep Girls Hoops was on hand at the home of the Blue Devils for Friday night’s matchup. Here is a look at who turned in notable performances. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/D8CDD029-8AFB-4FAD-9670-983056B39B00-crop-912x599-1639416856.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-364251" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/D8CDD029-8AFB-4FAD-9670-983056B39B00-crop-912x599-1639416856-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124093" first="Anala" last="Nelson"] – 2022 – Lower Richland HS</strong> – One only has to watch a few minutes of Lower Richland basketball to see that coach Aaron Lucas is big on emphasizing defense. Nelson was one element of a stifling Diamond Hornets defensive effort that made it difficult for the Blue Devils to get on the scoreboard. Nelson got the job done on the offensive side as well. She led all Lower Richland scorers with 13 points and had two made field goals in every quarter outside of the second. The Austin Peay commit particularly was versatile with how she scored in the first quarter by including a made 3-pointer and a couple of free throws. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/9984FA36-380B-43EA-BC0D-399E1924773F-crop-868x570-1639416897.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-364252" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/9984FA36-380B-43EA-BC0D-399E1924773F-crop-868x570-1639416897-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="318083" first="Tahlia" last="Hollis"] – 2023 – Dreher HS</strong> – Hollis is a two-sport athlete who has also excelled at softball in addition to what she has accomplished on the basketball court. She got a good bit of playing time on Friday night being one of the starters for coach Teresa Jones’ Blue Devils team. Hollis grabbed rebounds and found driving lanes to the rim against what was a difficult Lower Richland defense to score against. She can get to the rim with a great deal of quickness and had a few occasions where she got fouled and was at the free throw line. Hollis concluded her evening with seven points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="361185" first="Taniyah" last="Weston"] – 2023 – Lower Richland HS</strong> – While its defense may get a lot of ink when writing about the Diamond Hornets, one also cannot overlook the team’s bench which was on display aplenty as well on Friday night. Weston provides that depth in the low post as she is listed at 5-foot-11. She was also a key element of the Diamond Hornets’ rebounding efforts particularly on the offensive glass. Weston came up big off the Lower Richland bench with 10 points and managed to score at least once in every quarter. She also managed to find herself at the free throw line and kept herself out of foul trouble. <strong>Ayanna Jacobs – 2023 – Dreher HS</strong> – Jacobs was on the floor a lot as well for the Blue Devils and was seemingly in the middle of wherever the most activity was on the court. She managed to get a steal off an inbounds pass and got fouled on a couple of occasions which placed her at the free throw line. Jacobs had spots where she played isolation defense, got rebounds and showcased a midrange jumper. She actually had the first field goal of the game for the Blue Devils which tied the contest up at two apiece in the early going. She eventually finished her evening with five points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="235335" first="Chanyse" last="Green"] – 2024 – Lower Richland HS</strong> – Speaking of the depth that the Diamond Hornets present … coach Lucas had to be impressed at how integral his team’s bench was in the victory. Green only had a pair of personal fouls called against her and managed to put one through the hoop in every quarter outside of the first frame. She had eight points for the game and was part of the 23 points overall the Diamond Hornets’ bench tallied. Green is also versatile as while she is listed at 5-foot-8, can also play a number of positions including as a guard and also as a small forward. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/9996E980-9253-4200-8AB9-20A76237D3B5-crop-1033x679-1639416959.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-364253" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/9996E980-9253-4200-8AB9-20A76237D3B5-crop-1033x679-1639416959-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124092" first="Imani" last="Williams"] – 2022 – Dreher HS</strong> – Williams will become very accustomed to wearing blue throughout this stage of her basketball career. After she departs from Dreher, she will head to the Crescent City to be part of the basketball program at the University of New Orleans. Williams is active away from the ball, has no problems calling for the rock when she is open, has a confidence about her play and can take care of the ball even amongst a slew of defenders. Williams will go all out for 50-50 balls, can attack the rim and will be in iso offensive situations while setting up her team’s halfcourt offense.