Lee Academy girls basketball team reaches SCISA AA semifinals

Bishopville – The Lee Academy girls basketball team capped off a season in which it won a

region title and a region tournament title by reaching the semifinals of the SCISA AA state tournament.

The Cavaliers finished the season with a 12-5 record. They won the Region 1 regular-season

crown with a 5-1 record and then beat The King’s Academy 31-25 and Conway Christian School 38-36

to win the region tournament. They were led by Region 1 Player of the Year Mazie Tomlinson while

head coach Kim Langston was selected as the Coach of the Year.

Tomlinson, a junior, averaged a double-double with an 11.5 points-per-game scoring average to

go with a whopping 18.1 rebounding average. She also led Lee in assists at 3.0, steals at 2.7 and blocked

shots at 1.1.

Joining Tomlinson on the All-Region team were freshman Karagan Melton and freshman

Jameson Collins. Melton shared the team lead in scoring with Tomlinson at 11.5 to go with 2,8 rebounds,

1.1 assists and 1.2 steals. Collins averaged 8.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1. assists and 1.1 steals.

After getting a first-round bye in the state tournament, the Cavaliers beat Our Lady of the

Rosary 38-28 in a quarterfinal game. Melton led in scoring with 14 points, while Tomlinson had nine and

Collins seven. Tomlinson also had 16 rebounds. Melton and junior Zana Brazell both had four steals.

LA lost to defending Class A state champion and eventual AA state champion Cross Schools 63-

39 in the semifinals. Collins led the way with 14 points followed by Tomlinson with eight and Melton

with seven. Tomlinson had 23 rebounds and five steals, while Brazell ha 15 rebounds and Collins 10.

With no seniors on the roster, Lee expects to have everyone back. Langston hopes her players

return with the desire to win still in them.

“Winning is fun, sure, but wining is not the point,” said Langston. “Wanting to win is the point,

not giving up is the point, never letting up is the point, never being satisfied with what you’ve done is the

point.

“The relationships that are developed are priceless. The players are amazing and the love for each

other and the love of the game are awesome.”

BRAYDEN DAVIS ALL-REGION BOYS BASKETBALL PICK

Freshman Brayden Davis was Lee’s lone selection on the All-Region boys basketball team.

Davis finished the season averaging 10 points a game.

Lee went 8-10 in its first season under head coach Kemp DeWitt. He felt like the Cavaliers had a

decent season.

“I believe we had a very up-and-down season in my first year as coach,” DeWitt said. “We were

able to grow as a team and program throughout the year, and I feel really good about what we are

building. We return a majority of our team, and I look forward to getting some players back next year that

were out with injury this entire season. I also feel great about what we did with JV (junior varsity) and

those players moving up will add to our varsity team next year.”