Turbeville – To say the East Clarendon High School girls basketball team had a drastic turnaround under first year head coach Demetress Adams-Ludd might be a wee bit of an understatement.
After winning just four games in the 2022-23 campaign, the Wolverines went 19-6 in the just completed season, finished second in Region 5-Class A and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.
"The season went well,” said Adams-Ludd, the former University of South Carolina standout. “Our team made strides in their individual as well as team skills. Our program burst with plenty of success on each level.
“The success of our program this season is a result of dedication, hard work and belief in a new system. As such, I think the team met their expectations.”
Leading the way for ECHS was senior Hayden White. She was East Clarendon’s only selection to the All-Region team, but she was also selected to the Class A All-State team by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association.
White led the way in scoring with a 17.0 points-per-game average. She was joined on the All-Region team by freshman Cherish Cochran, junior Jasmyne Lloyd, eighth-grader Kiersten Woods and sophomore Courtney McFadden
Cochran averaged 10.5 points, Lloyd averaged 8.5 points, Woods 7.3 points and McFadden 2.6 points and 2.8 steals.
East Clarendon beat Cross 61-52 in the first round of the playoffs. It then dropped a 44-38 decision to Allendale-Fairfax.
“Our team's ability to work hard and adapt to change is a huge strength,” Adams-Ludd said. “ Our weakness was scoring in periods late in the game in which we could turn momentum of the basketball game to win.
“I have no regrets on this season. The Players and coaches gave their best efforts each practice and game.”
Adams-Ludd believes the future is bright for ECHS girls basketball.
“East Clarendon has tremendous potential to be a competitive basketball program,”” she said. “The players returning are young and talented with a desire to improve. We have coaches who are committed to teaching and raising the standard of girls basketball. Together. We have a nice formula for a bright program.”
ECHS BOYS FINISH WITH A 5-21 RECORD
In the first season of his second tenure as the ECHS boys basketball head coach, Patrick Kelly admitted it was not an easy season. And he wasn’t surprised.
“The season went about what I expected,” Kelly said of the 5-21 campaign. “I thought we could get a few more wins. We lost several close games (eight losses by six points or less).”
The Wolverines had two All-Region performers, one an eighth-grader, the other a senior.
The eighth-grader was Josh Gamble. He led ECHS in scoring with 16.0 points while averaging .5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.5 steals.
The senior was Ryan Sullivan. He only averaged 3.1 points, but he grabbed a team high 8.8 rebounds to go with 1.1 assists and 1.9 steals.
Other key contributors were junior Whit Nesbitt (7.1 ppg), senior Jordan Thames (3.2 ppg, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 blocked shots) and sophomore Jaylon Barron (4.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg).
The Wolverines were 3-5 in region play, which was good for third. They faced Cross in the first round of the playoffs and lost 69-62. Cross ended up playing for the lower state title.
“The Cross game was a tough game,” Kelly said. “We were prepared for them and played a good game. A few questionable calls in the last two minutes and not scoring in the last two minutes did us in. We had several good looks which would have tied the game or gave us the lead, and the ball just didn't bounce our way.
“It was a tough way to end a tough season. I think a lot of our guys finally believed that we can compete with almost any team. I hope this will carry over to the summer and into next season. This summer we need to get in the gym to shoot and work on ball handling. We can't turn the ball over next year at the rate we did this year (28 per game).”
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