BLYTHEWOOD – With 13 returning players to their 2022 team, Westwood girls appear to be overflowing with talent and experience. And if their pre-season is any indication of what’s to come, we might as well buckle up… it looks like their foot is on the gas.
Westwood opened pre-season action in Hartsville at the Hoopin in the Ville tournament, where they blew out Loris 74-47 and handled Sumter 47-38.
Then they headed to the She Got Next tournament at White Knoll High School on Nov. 25 and 26, where they added another blow out win, this time against Timberland. The Redhawks put up 68 to the Wolves 36 in Friday’s game.
Saturday they faced a more formidable Dutch Fork team but still came away with a 56-48 win.
Westwood opened their season on Tuesday at Spring Valley. The Vikings were competitive in the first quarter, only trailing 15-16 heading into the second, but Westwood buckled down. They allowed only nine points from Spring Valley for the remainder of the half and put up 17 to extend their lead 33-24 at halftime.
The third quarter mirrored the second. Westwood outscored Spring Valley 19-5. The Vikings mounted a comeback in the fourth, but the deficit was too large. They fell 45-62 to the tough Redhawk team.
Seniors Korletta Daniels and Miracle Branch led Westwood scorers with 16 and 12 points apiece in the win over Spring Valley. Branch shot 100% from the floor; she was 2 for 2 from behind the arc. Thanna Davis and Raven Johnson had 8 points each.
Daniels also led with 8 rebounds and two steals on the night. Senior Jessica Woods also had 8 rebounds and coupled it with 9 assists and a steal. She also added 7 points. Makiah Thompson had 6 assists, 6 points and two steals.
In pre-season action, Woods tallied 51 points, averaging 13.5 per game. Daniels amassed 41 points through the four pre-season games; Thompson totaled 37 points, Johnson 34, and Davis 30.
In the Sumter, Timberland and Dutch Fork games, Johnson had a team-high 32 total rebounds. Woods had 24 and Daniels had 21. Also through the three games, Woods had team-high 16 assists and 9 steals.
Westwood will host a Queens of the Castle tournament this week and weekend. Tournament play opens on Thursday when Westwood will face Winston-Salem Christian (NC). They’ll play Hoover High School from Alabama on Friday and Collins Hill of Suwanee, GA on Saturday.
Westwood host Spring Valley next Friday for their home opener.