Lake City girls basketball team off to 4-0 start in Region 7-AA

Lake City – The Lake City High School girls basketball team went just 2-8 in Region 6-AAA

last season. Things are a bit different for the Panthers in their first season in Region 7-AA.

With four returning starters and under first-year head coach Shaquetta Cooper, LCHS is off to

a 4-0 start in region play.

Cooper, whose team is 8-4 overall, believes things are only going to get better.

“It’s in between,” was Cooper’s response when asked if the team was playing up to her

expectations. “There’s still a lot more work to be done.”

Lake City is led by eighth-grade shooting guard Hannah Riles. A returning starter, Riles is

averaging 13.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 1.2 assists per game.

She is receiving interest from NCAA Division I schools Florida, East Carolina and Coastal

Carolina, according to Cooper.

The other returning starters are junior post player Na’Shira Starks, junior wing Jada Robinson

and junior point guard Trayana Burgess. The newcomer to the lineup is senior guard Tyra Jones.

Starks is averaging 6.5 and a team high 6.8 rebounds, Robinson is averaging 8.3 points, 6.0

rebounds and 2.8 steals, Burgess is at 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds, and Jones is averaging 4.4 points and

3.3 steals.

Other key members of the rotation are senior Jayda Burgess  (4.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg), junior Amani

Singletary, junior Kierstyn Hanna, junior Kailey Graham  and freshman Ja’Kyla Boyle.

To be successful, Cooper said the Panthers have to fill their roles.

“Everybody has to be a star in what they do best,” she said.

BOYS BASKETBALL STARTS 2-2 IN REGION

The Lake City boys got off to a 5-4 overall start and were 2-2 in region play. The loss came to

Mullins when the Panthers were without leading scorer Blayne Edwards, who was preparing to play

in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl  all-star football game.

Through five games, Edwards was averaging 15.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Edwards

is one of two returning starters from last season, the other one being junior Amari Hanna. He was

averaging 8.0 points and 2.7 steals.

The three newcomers to the lineup are seniors Kenjae Burgess, Devin Cockfield and Antwain

Jones. Burgess was averaging a team high 4.0 assists to go with 10.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals.

Cockfield led in rebounding at 9.6 to go with 7.1 points and 2.3 steals. Jones was the leading shot blocker

at 1.4 to go with 6.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.

Juniors Fernadez Witherspoon, Jeffery Burgess and RJ Matthews are in the regular rotation.

“We have played just a little above what I had expected because of only two returning starters that

have varsity basketball experience and our size,” said head coach Seneca Barron. “We are one of the

smaller teams in our region. Keys for us to be successful are rebounding and not turning the ball over.

We’ve got to get better at the fundamentals.”