Latta’s Lady Vikings Capture Lower State Title With 58-48 Win

For most of the season, Latta girls weren’t even ranked in the top 10. Now, they’re the last team standing in the lower state after earning a 58-48 win over Hemingway on Saturday to claim the title and a shot at the state championship.

It will be the first time the Lady Vikings have played for the state title since their win in 2007 against Indian Land. Latta will play St. Joseph’s this Saturday, March 8, at 11:00 a.m. at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia.

Latta’s Coach Curtis Jackson and TaKeria Legette, who led the Vikings with 23 points, both said Saturday’s game was about defense.

“It’s all about defense,” Jackson said. “We don’t have great size. We’ve got to run.”

After a successful 17-3 record in 2013 with a 10-0 record in region play, the Vikings went out in the first round of playoffs in Carvers Bay. This year, the Latta girls only appeared in the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association’s Class A state polls once, and after back-to-back losses to Dillon, the Lady Vikings seemed to fall off the radar. But Latta didn’t give up and, aside from an early loss to Hannah-Pamplico, the Vikings began to dominate region play, and managed to defeat Hannah-Pamplico 50-21 in their second meeting.

With weather postponements, the Vikings ended up with a crowded schedule, forcing them to play six games in nine days to determine the region title. Latta earned back-to-back wins over Lake View, Green Sea-Floyds, and Johnsonville to claim the region title, and after wins over East Clarendon and Denmark-Olar in the first rounds of playoffs, the Vikings faced former state champs Timmonsville last Tuesday in the lower state semi-finals.

The win was an upset for the Lady Whirlwinds, who had one of the best players in the state in Sade Eli and had made four straight lower state championship appearances.

The win also set the Vikings up to face the 2013 state champ, Hemingway, in the lower state bout. The Lady Tigers entered the playoffs in third place in their region, but quickly made their way through the bracket, downing Hannah-Pamplico 56-31, Whale Branch 38-31, and Baptist Hill 45-29.

“I told my girls we don’t have a problem being underdogs,” Coach Jackson said. “They play the game the right way. They played hard, they played smart, and most of all, the played relaxed.”

On Saturday, the Vikings took the court at the Florence Civic Center with that attitude in mind. The Lady Tigers took an early 6-2 lead but Latta quickly caught up with a two-pointer and a free throw from Jessica Evans, a two-pointer from Maya Wright, and a three-point from TaKeria Legette that helped push Latta ahead 17-13 by the end of the first quarter.

Fouls sent the Vikings to the free throw line several times in the second quarter, and Jessica Evans hit two two-pointers and three free throws to help the Vikings outscore the Tigers 11-9 to lead 28-22 at the half.

Hemingway rallied in the start of the third quarter and with 4:16 left in the third, the tigers had closed the gap to 33-31. But Legette sank two and Brittany Burgess scored a two-pointer to push the Vikings ahead 39-31. The Tigers managed to outscore the Vikings 17-15 but at the end of the quarter Hemingway still trailed 43-39.

With Hemingway’s top scorer, Diamond McFadden, fouling out near the end of the third quarter and a technical foul from Hemingway coach Chakaris Thomas, the Vikings were able to go on a 7-0 run at the start of the fourth, beginning with a free throw from Burgess. Legette and Evans put more points on the board for the Vikings and Latta kept a comfortable 10 point lead throughout the rest of the game, outscoring the Tigers 15-9 in the quarter for the 58-48 win.

Hemingway had a total of 19 fouls in the game, allowing the Vikings 22 free throw attempts. Latta had 10 fouls for only five attempts for the Tigers.

TaKeria Legette led the Vikings with a game-high 23 points, including two three-pointers and five of seven free throw attempts. Legette also picked up 10 rebounds with seven assists and three steals.

Jessica Evans earned 19 points for the Vikings, hitting seven of nine free throw attempts with three rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Brittany Burgess added 10 points in the win with 10 assists and four steals, and Maya Wright scored four with 12 rebounds, two steals, and a block. Mallory Townsend contributed two points and grabbed seven rebounds with an assist.

Diamond McFadden led Hemingway with a team-high 20 points.

Latta improved to 18-4 with the win while Hemingway finished the season 15-5.

Now the Lady Vikings must turn their attention to St. Joseph’s Lady Knights in the Class A State Championship on Saturday. The Lady Knights are 21-7 heading into the championship bout. St. Joseph’s finished region play with an undefeated 12-0 record in Region 2A and dominated the upper state playoff bracket, defeating Calhoun Falls 51-23, C.A. Johnson 60-20, and McCormick 67-43.

The Knights claimed the upper state title with a 43-35 win over Lamar on Saturday in a great defensive effort. Imani King led St. Joseph’s with 14 points in the win and Maeve McNamara earned 13.

Latta will play St. Joseph’s this Saturday, March 8, at 11:00 a.m. at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at the main office of Latta High School.

Photos by Johnnie Daniels/THE DILLON HERALD. Click the images below to view at full size!