Saluda – Having lost standout Jessica Means to graduation, some growing pains were expected for the Saluda High School girls basketball team. There might have been a few, but not too many.
The Tigers finished the season with an 18-4 record, winning the Region 2-AA title and advancing to the second round of the state playoffs along the way.
“The season was a huge success,” said head coach Jeannette Wilder, who led Saluda to the 2021 state championship. “With the graduation of Jessica Means, obviously those are big shoes to fill. The team worked well together to offset her absence, and Ceddrianna Springs grew stronger in her role as the point guard each week.”
Sprngs, an eighth-grader, was one of three Tigers selected to the All-Region team. The others were senior Kaylen Nick and senior Jana Pou.
Springs averaged 14.9 points, 5.3 steals, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game for the season. During region play, Springs averaged 16.6 points and 6.4 steals.
Nick, a center, averaged a double-double on the season at 15.9 points and 12.5 rebounds. She also averaged 1.1 blocked shots per game and 1.5 steals.
Pou, a forward, averaged 5.0 points and 7.0 rebounds for the season. She averaged 6.0 points and 2.0 steals in region play.
Nick, whom Wilder called a team leader, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in a knee with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
“We were all devastated for Kaylen and for the team,” Wilder said. “But this team's love for Kaylen and their sheer competitiveness pushed them to win a region championship and make a respectable run in the playoffs.”
Saluda beat Mid-Carolina in the final game of the regular season to force a special game between the two to determine the region champion. The Tigers won again to claim the region’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
Saluda beat Batesburg-Leesville 44-18 in the opening round before losing to Keenan 65-44.
Wilder said it was her team’s athleticism that made them successful.
“Our major strengths are speed, defense and transition baskets,” she said. “Our biggest weakness is scoring in the halfcourt set.”
The Tigers will be losing a big part of their roster to graduation. That doesn’t curb Wilder’s enthusiasm for what lays ahead for the program one bit though.
“We graduate six seniors this year with the likes of Kaylen Nick, Jana Pou, Kya Hutto, Tylicia Stevens, Keniya Young and Liberty Kirkland, all who contributed greatly to the success of our season,” Wilder said. “So that is definitely going to impact our team.
"However, we are excited about the future of the program. The contributing returners are solid players with Ceddrianna Springs, Ja'Bria Daniels (freshman), Bree Hill (sophomore), Tamia Daniels (junior), Erin Black (junior) and Alani Colmenares (junior). I am also excited about the young talent coming through the feeder program.”
SALUDA BOYS FINISH 7-17
The Saluda boys went 7-17 on the season and 2-6 in region play. That was good enough to get the Tigers in the playoffs where they lost to Greer Middle College in the first round.
“Overall, it was not the season we had hoped for,” said head coach Jimmy Kinard. “We had a very young team and look to be much improved next season.”
Eight of Saluda’s 17 losses came by 10 points or less.
All Rights Reserved | The High School Sports Report 1986-2021