A fourth-quarter surge by the Fort Mill girls’ basketball team powered them to a 54-41 win over the York Cougars Friday evening.
The win for Fort Mill puts them now at 6-10 on the season as they prepare to open up Region 3-5A play next week. Only the girls played York Friday as the boy’s game against York was cancelled due to COVID issues within the York program.
Fort Mill outscored York 20-11 in the fourth quarter to go from leading by four to end the third quarter to winning by 13. One of the biggest issues in the game for the Jackets was the rebounding.
“It was a big difference in getting the win,” said Fort Mill head coach Heather Klipa. “We have a lot of players gaining confidence now.”
Fort Mill had two players in double figures as Lydia Laney led with 16 points and Clare Moore added 10 points as well. The Jackets came alive in the fourth quarter and found another gear as they hit four of seven 3-pointers. Fort Mill hit 10 3-pointers in the game.
The Jackets started the game strong, but York quickly went on a 6-0 run to go up 10-5. Fort Mill battled back and Laney tied the game at 12-12 with her first of four 3-pointers of the game as the Jackets went up 17-14 after the first quarter.
Neither team offensively lit it up in the second quarter and combined for just 10 points as Fort Mill took a 22-19 lead at the half. York opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 25-22 lead as Fort Mill struggled in the early part of the third quarter missing their first four shots. The Cougars played Fort Mill closely in the third quarter as the Jackets had their worse offensive quarter in the game and grasped to a four-point lead to open the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Fort Mill got hot again and hit seven of 11 shots from the field as Moore scored seven of her 10 points in the game. The Jackets were able to control the ball for the majority of the game and had only 10 total turnovers as a team.
The Jackets are riding a good wave of momentum heading into next week and should potentially get back both Dylan Harder and Nadia Dial, who have missed the majority of the season with injuries. Fort Mill has one more non-region game against Northwestern next Wednesday, Jan. 12 before opening region play at Boiling Springs Friday, Jan. 14.
Basketball
The Nation Ford girls’ basketball team beat River Bluff 43-32 on the road in Lexington Friday night. The win improves the Falcons to 4-11 overall on the season and will open up Region 3-5A play next Tuesday, Jan. 11 at home against Boiling Springs.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
