Lake City's Hannah Riles selected to South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association AA girls All-State team
Panthers freshman had 52-point game against Lakewood
Lake City – After making a magical run to the AA Lower State championship game last season, the just completed campaign didn’t go the way the Lake City High School girls basketball team had hoped.
After gong 17-8 overall and winning Region 7 with a 10-2 record, the Panthers went a still respectable 14-12 this season and were 6-6 in region play, good for fourth place.
That put Lake City on the road against Chesterfield, which finished second in Region 4. The Panthers put up a good battle, but fell by a 53-50 count.
Despite the early exit, second-year head coach Shaquetta Cooper isn’t deterred.
“It didn’t end how we wanted, but we saw a lot of growth in these young ladies this season,” Cooper said. “I’m looking forward to great things in the future.”
One reason Cooper can be so optimistic is she has one Hannah Riles for three more years. Riles is just a freshman, but she was named to the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association All-State team as well as the All-Region 7 team.
Riles led Lake City in scoring with a 13.9 points-per-game average and also in assists at 3.2. She also averaged 3.2 steals and 4.0 rebounds.
Riles was rated the second best player in Region 7. She scored 52 points in one game, a 75-32 triumph over Lakewood. Riles connected on nine 3-point shots.
Like Riles, senior Jada Robinson was an All-Region selection. Robinson just missed averaging a double-double, pulling down 10.2 rebounds while scoring at a 9.0 clip. She also led in steals at 3.4.
Another key contributor was senior Trayana Burgess. She averaged 10.3 and 3.3 steals, both second on the team.
LAKE CITY BOYS FINISH 8-15
The Lake City boys basketball team closed the season with an 8-15 record. The Panthers went 4-8 in region play, which was good for fifth place and a berth in the state playoffs. Lake City went out in the first round, falling to Hampton County 74-54.
Senior Amari Hanna was selected to the All-Region team. Hanna averaged a team high 13.4 points to go with 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
Honorable mention selections were senior Jeffery Burgess, senior Da’jon McClary and freshman XyKenan Hickson.
Burgess was the second leading scorer with a 7.9 average. He also averaged 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals. McClary led the Panthers in rebounding at 8.4 while scoring at a 6.9 clip. Hickson led in assists at 3.9 while scoring at a 7.3 clip.
Head coach Seneca Barron credited his senior class with being good leaders.
“They called us mediocre – but our seniors called us to be better,” Barron said. “Through ups and downs, they led with toughness and pride, and because of that leadership we played in the postseason.”
