Dillon’s Lady Wildcats saw their season end on Friday night as they fell 59-52 to the Lake City Panthers in the second round of the girls Class 2A lower state basketball playoffs.
The Panthers took a 10-7 lead in the first quarter and went 15-13 in the second to lead 25-20 at the half. But Dillon’s Tyshanna Lester and Dakerhia Samuel opened the third with a combined six points to give the Wildcats a 26-25 lead with 6:02 left in the quarter. The Wildcats couldn’t hold the lead, though, as Lester got her fourth foul with 2:30 left in the period and the Panthers capitalized, outscoring Dillon 15-14 for a 40-34 lead.
With 3:05 left in the game, Lester hit two free throws to put Dillon behind 50-46, but Lake City’s returning player Tisheema Elmore scored a layup and a stole a pass before being fouled. It was Elmore’s first game back since an injury against Kingstree on February 5. She scored both free throws and Lake City’s Marie McClary hit two more free throws to put the Panthers ahead 56-46 with two minutes left. Lake City ended the quarter 19-18 to seal the 59-52 win.
Lake City’s Shaunice Fulmore earned 19 points and 12 rebounds and Tisheema Elmore scored 15 to lead the Panthers. Jasmine McClam added nine points and Marie McClary scored seven with Ashley Brayboy earning four, Fredricka Wilson scoring three, and Jasmain Singletary adding two in the win. The Panther defense forced 36 turnovers in the game.
Tyshanna Lester led Dillon with a game-high 21 points, picking up six rebounds. Brianna Lee scored 12 points, and Dakerhia Samuel scored eight points with with 13 rebounds. Khamele Manning scored five points for the Wildcats, Shar’Asia Samuel earned four, and Nakedra Page added two points for Dillon.
Dillon coach Shawn Johnson said that Lake City’s experience was a really big help in the win. The Panthers were lower state runner up last season, falling to 61-50 to Bishop England, who went on to claim the Class 2A state championship.
Johnson said he is certain that the Wildcats will make it back to the playoffs next season, adding that it was good experience for a team that is made up mostly of freshmen and eighth-graders like Khamele Manning, who led Dillon in much of the early season. “This is a good step for us,” he said.
The Wildcats finished the season with a 17-7 record. Lake City improves to 20-3 and will move on to face Kingstree tonight at 7:00 p.m. The winner will advance to the lower state finals at the Florence Civic Center on February 23 to face either Burke or Bishop England.
