MYRTLE BEACH – Westwood’s girls basketball team headed to Myrtle Beach for the CresCom Holiday Invitational Dec. 19-21.
The Redhawks faced Greensboro Day School of Greensboro, NC on day one and came up just seven points short of a win. The Bengals held the Redhawks at bay during the first half and headed to intermission with a 31-22 lead over Westwood. The Redhawks’ second-half, 40-point rally was not enough as they fell with a 69-62 final.
Westwood faced the Class 6A Norland Vikings of Miami, FL on day two of the tournament. Westwood only trailed by two at halftime, but the Vikings turned up the offense in the second half as Norland claimed a 52-35 win.
The Redhawks advanced to day three of the tournament to face the McEachern Indians of Powder Springs, GA. Westwood unleashed a powerful offensive effort in the decisive win over the Indians. Up 41-22 at the half, the Redhawks put up 42 to McEachern’s 23 in the second half for a 83-25 final.
Redhawk Freshman Jessica Woods put up 42 points in the tournament, leading Westwood in scoring against Greensboro (21) and Norland (9). Woods was credited with seven assists and three steals in the tournament and shot 75% from behind the arc in the loss to Greensboro.
Senior Nyah Leveretter led the Redhawks offensively with 22 points against McEachern for a three-day total of 43 points. Leveretter averaged 11.7 rebounds per game and added three assists and two blocks to her stats.
Seniors Ja’Mari Frederick and Ja’la Wade also put up solid numbers in the tournament. Frederick averaged 9.7 points and 4 assists per game. She was also credited with 3 steals, 2 deflections and a rebound in the loss to Greensboro. Wade put up 19 points in the win over McEachern and averaged 10.3 rebounds per game.
Junior Malayziah Etheredge put up 13 points and three assists against McEachern.
Westwood returns to regular-season action on Friday at Blythewood High School, then will host Blythewood on Jan. 7 at the Castle.
