By Craig Brown
Latta’s #23 TaKeria Legette moves to the net. (Photo by Craig Brown.)
Rianna Green, Maya Wright, Mallory Townsend, and Takeria Legette had double digit scores as they led the Lady Viking offense past the Lady Bears of Carvers Bay 63-54 to claim the Class A Lower State Title on Saturday, February 28, at the Florence Civic Center.
The number of fans in attendance to this game would have overflowed either school’s gym by a considerable margin but the Bears had a slightly higher turnout. All in attendance witnessed a superb game that both Viking and Bear fans cheered throughout.
For the first three periods Latta held a sight lead but it was still anybody’s game. The Vikings proved to be the better team by dominating the fourth period to give them the nine point victory margin over the Bears.
The first period ended with Latta holding onto a 10-6 lead. The Bears pushed hard in the second period using full court pressure on defense but went into the halftime break trailing the Vikings 24-22.
Both teams had their second wind returning to play in the third period and the battle resumed. The period ended with Latta out front 43-39. Only the efforts of Desaree Green and Anastashia Bromell kept the Bears from being blown out in the fourth period by the Vikings, who added 20 points on the Bears in the final period to finish the game with the 63-54 win.
Viking Head Coach Curtis Jackson had his team well prepared and equally physically conditioned for this game. The Vikings ran a fast paced game that had the Bears playing catchup and eventually wearing them down. Coach Jackson and his Lady Vikings had high respect for this Carvers Bay team.
The Vikings will face off against Christ Church Episcopal Saturday in Columbia at the Colonial Life Arena with game time set for 11:00 a.m. This will be a rematch from last year when the Vikings dominated the second half to earn the championship.
Leading the Vikings on offense, Rianna Green earned 17 points; Mallory Townsend and Maya Wright scored 15 points each; Takeria Legette earned 14; and Madelia Johnson added two.
For the Bears, Desaree Green scored 17 points; Anastashia Bromell added 15 points; LaQuasha Coles earned eight points; and Quantaisha Robinson and Zaria Blain scored seven points each.
Both teams can be proud of their efforts in this game. We here in Dillon County are proud that the Vikings are returning to the big game and we hope that it will be a repeat of last year. Plan on making the trip to Columbia to support our team and see some exciting basketball!
Click here to view more photos from the lower state championship game, or click here to see video from the game!
Photos by Craig Brown. Click the images below to view at full size!
