Chesterfield girls shake off slow start to earn playoff shot

Chesterfield girls shake off slow start to earn playoff shot

By David Shelton

Senior Writer



Chesterfield – A strength of a good coach is patience, not panic. When teams start slow, the right coach can calm the waters and keep the team focused on daily improvement.

When his 2024-25 team got off to a slow start this season, Chesterfield girls coach Nick Jolly stayed the course. The Rams went 1-7 in non-region play during the first month of the season but Jolly knew his young team needed some time to develop the right chemistry.

Things improved drastically in region 4-AA play as the Rams piled up nine league wins against three losses. Two of those losses came to defending state champion Andrew Jackson. Chesterfield split two games with Cheraw and is slated to play the Braves on Feb. 14 to settle the No. 2 position in the region standings.

“We weren’t winning games early but we were competitive,” Jolly said. “We just weren’t consistent and we weren’t closing out games. We led in most of our games. I saw potential this team and felt we would do well in our region.”

This year’s team is a mix of seniors and underclassmen with the younger players carrying a heavy load. Freshman Reagan Rivers is averaging nearly 15 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. She recently recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in the win over Cheraw.

Another freshman, Terrahjah Robinson is averaging 12.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Seventh-grader Le’Asia Brown joined the team at mid-season after dominating the middle school level. Brown is averaging 7.9 rebounds per game.

Senior Temia Chapman averages 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds and senior Trinity Turnage adds 5.1 points per game. Senior Kai Pace is a strong defender while averaging about five points and five rebounds per contest.

Remaining members of the team include senior Jalah Carter; juniors Justice Sellers, Jaylen Evans and Jordan Evans; and freshmen Aiivia Honeycutt and Taylor McCoy.

“We are excited about the playoffs,” Jolly said. “We feel we can compete with any team we might see and we are playing our best right here at the end. This team can win some playoff games.”