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Colleton County girls closing in on region championship

By David Shelton

Senior Writer

Walterboro – With a relatively small team, in terms of size, Colleton County girls basketball coach Tamara Washington is letting her guards do the heavy lifting this season. And those guards have answered every challenge.

“We are guard heavy and we have to take advantage of the athleticism and quickness,” said the coach, who is in her first season at the helm of the program. “We don’t have as much of a inside presence as they have had here in the past so we have to adjust. The thing I like about this team is they are tenacious and they will get after it hard.”

Colleton County has one player this season over six-feet tall, senior Lakenya Williams. But the team full of guards has led the Lady Cougars to a 6-0 start in region 8-AAAA play while winning 16 of 20 games overall.

Colleton County is ranked 10th by the High School Sports Report in the latest class AAAA girls rankings.

Colleton County is averaging 58 points per game and the scoring is spread out evenly.

Sophomore guard Deyja Brown (5-6) is averaging 12.7 points per game, which leads the team. Brown also averages 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game.

Senior forward Tee Burns (5-10) is the best threat inside. Burns averages 10.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

Senior guard Thea Campbell (5-6) averages 9.6 points, 2.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game.

Junior guard Briana Chisolm (5-5) averages 9.3 points and 3.3 boards per game while senior guard Kayla Reed-Blake (5-7) averages 9.2 points per game.

Junior forward Terranda Green (5-10) is pulling down 3.9 rebounds per game.

Rounding out the 2011-12 roster are senior guard Oshiana Davis and junior guard Courtney Eady.

Washington stated earlier this season how pleased she has been with the way her team has responded to a new coach and a new system. She is not surprised by the success because of the team’s work ethic.

“It’s a really good group of girls to work with and they have responded very well to me,” said Washington. “They have been very receptive and respectful and we’ve been able to have a lot of fun. They know when it’s time to work and they work really hard. They are buying into everything and it shows when we play.”

Riley to receive award

Veteran head football coach and athletic director Leroy Riley will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the High School Sports Report at the publication’s annual Fall Sports Awards Banquet.

Riley, who recently announced his retirement from Colleton County, served 25 years as the school’s athletic director and head football coach, starting first at the old Walterboro High. He compiled more than 150 career wins at the school, leading Walterboro to one state AAAA title and a runner-up finish.

The banquet will be held on February 19 at the Seawell’s Restaurant in Columbia beginning at 5 p.m.

 

 

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?They?re athletic, as usual, and their skill people are as good as anyone?s,? said Riley. ?They always are a well-prepared football team. They?re coming off a loss but they are much better than they played in their first game. With this being their first home game, I?m sure they will play better.?

Riley was pleased with his team?s performance in the 34-0 win over Lakewood .

?As a coach, I want to see us play better and improve on the things we did wrong, but overall we saw a lot of good things from our team. We were pretty consistent on both sides of the ball, with a little letdown here and there. I was pleased with our effort overall.?

Colleton County displayed great balance offensively in the win, equally distributing the more than 400 total yards of offense through the air and on the ground. Senior quarterback Kevin Adams had a solid game, passing for more than 200 yards. Running back Eric Kirkland added 130 yards rushing and scored on a run and a pass reception. Tackle Trey Black was the top performer along the offensive line, along with sophomore Deshawn Griffith, who was making his first varsity start.

Receivers James Rice, Tony Stephens, Willie Grant and Jonathan Gordon had productive nights in the passing game as well.

?Being able to run and pass effectively makes us a much better offense overall and balance is something we strive for,? said Riley. ?Our pass protection was very good. Our receivers caught and blocked well on the perimeter. We were a little slow in the third quarter but otherwise we had three very solid quarters of football.?

Defensively, end Andre Collum and linebacker Phillip Martin were the top performers but Riley thought the defense played well as a unit.