Parker Richardson happy with first year as East Clarendon girls basketball head coach

           Turbeville – All things considered, the East Clarendon High School girls basketball team had a pretty good year.

           The Wolverines went 10-15 on the season, finished fifth in Region 7-AA and made the state playoffs. So what’s so great about that? We’ll let head coach Bridget Parker Richardson put it into context.

           “I think the first season went well considering I didn’t start until September and we lost a key player early,” said Parker Richardson, who previously had been the head coach at Crestwood.

           Upon closer observation, four of EC’s losses came by six points or less, so the record could have been even better.

           The player who was lost early in the season was sophomore Kiersten Woods. She played in five games and averaged 12.6 points per game after averaging over eight points a contest as a freshman.

           Junior Cherish Cochran was the leading scorer and was named to the All-Region team. Cochran averaged 18.6 points.

           The next three leading scorers were all underclassmen as well. Sophomore Bailey Hicks averaged 10.6 points, junior Payton Hanniford  averaged 6.7 points and sophomore Tymani Cooper averaged 5.1 points.

           The only seniors on the roster were Addison Fleming, who averaged 4.0 points, and Courtney McFadden. That has Parker Richardson excited about her second season.

“I look forward to working the girls this summer, and I’m excited for next season,” said Parker Richardson, who led Crestwood to a 16-9 record and the quarterfinals of the AAA state playoffs in the 2023-24 season.

EAST CLARENDON BOYS MISS PLAYOFFS

           The East Clarendon boys finished the year with a 9-15 overall record, went 3-9 in region play and missed out on the state playoffs. However, the Wolverines were very close to having a solid season.

           Six of their losses came by seven points, with four of the defeats being region contests. A couple of victories would have gotten them into the playoffs.

           “I hate that the season is over,” said EC head coach Patrick Kelly. “Being such a young team, I feel that we just ran out of gas toward the end of the season.”

           Sophomore James Gamble was East Clarendon’s All-Region selection. He averaged 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.5 steals. all of which were team highs. He also averaged 2.5 assists.

           Junior Braylon Hunt, junior Ke’Shaun Porter  and sophomore Rashad Scott were honorable mention selections. Scott averaged 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds, Porter led the team in assists with 2.6 while averaging 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds, and Hunt averaged 7.6 points.

           With sophomore DJ Wilson and freshman Mark Kelly, the Wolverines will be returning their top six scorers next season Wilson averaged 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, while Kelly averaged 3.1 points.

           “This was a fun group to coach, and I can’t wait to have everyone back next year,” said Coach Kelly.

 4 EC WRESTLERS QUALIFY FOR STATE

East Clarendon had four wrestlers qualify for the AA-Class A individual state tournament by placing in the top eight in the Lower State individuals.

           Tryston Underwood had the best finish for the Wolverines, finishing second in the 144-pound weight class to Brody Nettles of Edisto. Takoda Cornelius finished fourth at 157, Picasso Brown finished seventh at 150, and Tyler Royall was eighth at 126.

           None of the four placed in the top four in their respective weight classes in the state tournament.