Youth not holding Colleton Prep girls back
By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Walterboro – The 2011-12 Colleton Prep girls’ basketball team is proving that effort and attitude can go a long ways.
Colleton Prep may not match up great with any team they meet on the hardwood but coach Neil Minton feels that his team’s desire to win offsets any lack of talent, size or speed.
Colleton Prep has competed with some of the state’s top SCISA teams this season and has put together a solid regular season.
A 58-56 loss to Laurence Manning on February 1st dropped the Lady Warhawks to 15-6 overall this season. It was the second close loss this season to Laurence Manning, a top 10 team in class AAA.
Colleton Prep has lost twice to the state’s top-ranked AA team, Thomas Heyward, and has lost twice to the second-ranked team in AA, Holly Hill Academy. Four of the team’s six losses were in single digits.
“I give our girls credit, they play hard,” said Minton. “I think defensively we get after people pretty good. We seem to have periods in each game where we don’t play well offensively but our defensive effort and intensity has kept us in a lot of games.
“I’m pretty pleased overall. We have one senior on the team. Most of these girls did play last year but we’re still fairly young. We’ve been competitive in nearly every game and we’re having a good year. I’m real proud of them so far.”
Minton says if his team shot free throws a little better they might be looking at nearly 20 victories. Colleton Prep was six-of-19 from the charity stripe in the most recent loss to Laurence Manning.
“We shot 45 percent from the field and I think 40 percent from three but 32 percent from the line,” lamented Minton.
Senior forward Sarah McDonald continues to post solid numbers this season, averaging 15 points per game. She scored 23 in the loss to Laurence Manning earlier this week and is closing in on her 1000th career point.
Sophomore point guard Laura Reynolds continues to be a sparkplug on both ends of the floor. Reynolds is scoring nine points per game while dishing out eight assists. She also manages nearly four steals per game.
Sophomore Kendall Jumper is averaging nine points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots per game.
Playing well on the defensive end are junior Courtney Kramer and sophomore Jaime McLain.
Sophomore Madeline Warren has become one of the team’s top three-point shooting threats
“She has been a pleasant surprise,” said Minton of Warren. “She came up from the jayvee team this year and has really been a good solid shooter for us.”
As the Lady Warhawks prepare for the upcoming state playoffs, Minton realizes his team may well run into undefeated Thomas Heyward in the bracket. He knows his team will be heavy underdogs but feels they will be prepared.
“We feel good about the playoffs,” he said. “We have played a tough schedule and I think it has prepared us well. We know what to expect from teams like Thomas Heyward and Holly Hill. I think when we play our best, we can be competitive with anyone we play.”
