GRANITEVILLE – The Westwood Lady Redhawks have made themselves quite at home in the State 4A Playoffs. After an easy win over Airport in the first round, Unique Drake scored 31 points in round two to give the Redhawks a 67-62 advantage over the Greenville Red Raiders. The win set Westwood up with a third round date against the Midland Valley Mustangs.
Westwood jumped off to a forceful start that left the Mustangs in a deep first-half hole that they could not recover from. The Redhawks punched their ticket to the semi-finals with a 72-54 victory.
Mya Belton (23) throws some lockdown defense on the Red Raider ball handler. | Leroy Howard
Midland Valley had no answers for the Redhawks’ early offensive tirade, and found themselves down 8-21 after a quarter of play. The Broncos’ offense and defense remained stuck on stalemate in the second quarter, and Westwood cruised to a 36-17 lead at halftime.
Both teams played nose-to-nose basketball in the second the half, but the deficit Westwood created in the first two quarters were far too much for the Broncos to overcome. Unique Drake had another scorcher of a game against the Broncos.
She had 20 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Mya Belton also had 20 points with four rebounds and three steals. Maliyah Lockett dumped in 13 points, and Malayziah Etheredge had 12 points with 71 percent shooting.
Jordan Morgan, with 25 points, was the only Bronco to crack double digits.
Westwood takes on the one-seeded North Augusta Yellow Jackets in the semi-finals Thursday. The Yellow Jackets have been a powerhouse this season and amassed a 24-1 record.
WHS – 21-15-18-18 – 72
MVHS – 8-9-18-19 – 54
WHS – Unique Drake – 20, Mya Belton – 20, Maliyah Lockett – 13, Malayziah Etheredge – 12, Nyah Leveretter – 7.
MVHS – Jordan Morgan – 25, Erin Andrews – 9, Shania Evans – 6, Tyrine Jefferson – 4, Phillippa Truesdale – 4, Faith Flowers – 2, Briana Edmond – 2, Kriston Glymph – 2.
