T-Bred girls get rivalry win

South Aiken's MaKenzie Smith drives to the basket in a 51-47 win over Aiken. Smith led South Aiken with 20 points. Staff photo by Noah Feit.

It wasn't the prettiest game of the season, but the high school girls' basketball contest between South Aiken and Aiken was one of the most competitive of the campaign. The Thoroughbreds kept their slim playoff hopes alive, while damaging the Lady Hornets' chances, in a captivating 51-47 victory.

South Aiken (10-8, 2-8 Region 5-AAAA) won't get official word about its playoff status until a region meeting this morning. There's a three-way tie between South Aiken, Aiken (6-17, 2-8) and White Knoll for the fourth - and final - playoff spot from the region. It will first be determined by strength of schedule, which could hurt the T-Breds, who didn't play as many Class AAAA opponents.

If Thursday's home-court win over its crosstown rivals is South Aiken's last game of the season, head coach Erin Brinkley couldn't think of a better way to close out her first year.

"I'm beyond excited; we needed this win as a program," Brinkley said after her team rallied from a five-point deficit with slightly more than 3 minutes to play and celebrated with students who rushed the court. "We beat Aiken, our record is 10-8, our record is above .500 and we're in double-digit wins."

All are milestone achievements for a program that has posted a 21-85 record over the past five seasons. And it almost didn't happen.

Playing in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, the T-Breds jumped out to an early lead and held a 31-19 advantage at halftime. South Aiken capitalized on Aiken turnovers for easy points. The T-Breds also benefitted from an aggressive Lady Hornet defense that was whistled for 14 personal fouls in the opening 16 minutes of the game. South Aiken went to the free-throw line 18 times in the first half, scoring 10 points.

But the aggression that was Aiken's undoing early was the key to its comeback in the third quarter. The Lady Hornets continued to apply intense on-the-ball pressure, especially on the perimeter in half-court sets. It paid off as they made clean steals and fueled their rally with transition baskets.

After trailing by as many as 14 points, Aiken closed the third quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 39-38 lead. The catalyst to the comeback was guard Erin Gilmore. She scored 20 of her game-high 26 points in the second half, many coming off steals that she turned into transition layups.

She remained aggressive, even after she picked up her fourth foul of the game with the Lady Hornets leading 41-40 with slightly more than 4 minutes to play. In the next minute, she had two steals and scores as Aiken built a 47-42 lead.

It would have been easy for South Aiken to crumble after losing five games in a row and squandering a big lead. But the T-Breds showed resiliency and toughness, and when MaKenzie Smith hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 to play, the score was tied at 47-all.

After a series of turnovers between the teams, South Aiken got the ball back at midcourt, and Smith came up big again. She broke free of Aiken's pressure and was able to streak to the basket for the game-winning basket with 49 seconds remaining.

Aiken had chances to tie and take the lead, but five shots were off-target. The T-Breds got the ball back with 3 seconds to go, and a home-run pass to Smith sealed the win, with a last second shot by Courtney Farrell providing the final margin.

"MaKenzie Smith was huge," Brinkley said of the guard who led South Aiken with 20 points in her first game back after missing the past three contests because of a high-ankle sprain. "She got the 3, a steal and scored the last five points for us to get the lead."

Kyasia Youmans scored nine points for South Aiken, as did Farrell, who added a career-best 18 rebounds. It was part of a breakthrough win for the T-Breds, who hadn't defeated their crosstown rivals in 11 attempts in the past six seasons prior to this game. It's a milestone, even if they don't make the playoffs.

"This allowed the girls to get confidence they didn't have at the beginning of the year. Being down and coming back tells a kid they can do it," Brinkley said. "South Aiken doesn't have a reputation as a basketball school. Maybe now (doubters) will believe in us."

AIK 8 11 20 8 - 47

SA 16 15 7 13 - 51

Aiken (6-17, 2-8 Region 5-AAAA)-Erin Gilmore 11 4-7 26, Kelsee Sapp 3 2-2 8, Kinsley Hall 0 5-10 5, Tyesha McKevie 0 1-1 1, Sophie Nance 1 3-4 5, Destiny Richardson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 15-24 47.

3-Pointers: None.

South Aiken (10-8, 2-8 Region 5-AAAA)-Kyasia Youmans 3 3-8 9, MaKenzie Smith 6 7-10 20, Shakera Williams 1 0-0 2, Keisha Whitaker 3 0-1 6, Morgan Fair 1 0-0 3, Courtney Griffin 1 0-0 2, Courtney Farrell 4 1-2 9, Abby Ray 0 0-1 0. Totals: 19 11-22 51.

3-Pointers: Smith, Fair.

Aiken boys 70, South Aiken 46

Thursday's regular-season finale between the boys' basketball teams from Aiken and South Aiken didn't have much bearing on the playoff picture. The Thoroughbreds had already been eliminated from postseason contention, while the Hornets were locked in to - at worst - the third seed out of Region 5-AAAA.

But there's no such thing as a meaningless game when these crosstown rivals play.

Buoyed by a huge crowd at South Aiken High School, the T-Breds kept the score close in the early stages. Then the Hornets started connecting from the perimeter. Aiken hit 11 shots from beyond the 3-point stripe in a 70-46 victory.

Shawn Moore led the way for Aiken (16-8, 6-4), scoring a game-best 24 points. He hit three of his four 3-pointers in the first half as the Hornets built a double-digit lead that was never threatened. Teammate Devante Butler connected on three 3s and finished with 15 points.

"We started in the first half and knocked down some shots early," said Aiken coach Tony Harrell, who was able to go deep into his bench in the lopsided victory. "Every kid executed and did a good job. I'm proud of the whole team."

Jordan Dingle was the lone T-Bred to score in double figures, finishing the game with 13 points. South Aiken (8-15, 1-9) was swept in the season series and finishes the campaign on a down note.

It's the exact opposite for Aiken, which will likely open the Class AAAA playoffs on Wednesday at Fort Dorchester. The Hornets have won two in a row and looked very good doing it.

"We want to use this game as a springboard going into the playoffs," Harrell said. "We're excited, we've got a great opportunity (in the playoffs) to do well and get a few wins. This is the second year in a row we're in the playoffs, it's great for the program."

AIK 22 13 14 21 - 70

SA 11 9 10 16 - 46

Aiken (16-8, 6-4 Region 5-AAAA)-Shawn Moore 8 4-5 24, Ryan McKie 1 0-0 3, Devante Butler 5 2-4 15, Darius Cheatham 2 2-2 6, Devin Smith 2 0-0 4, John Besson 1 0-0 3, Trey Harris 1 0-0 3, Jaylen Croft 2 0-0 5, Royal Purnell 1 2-2 4, Dramel Coleman 1 1-4 3. Totals: 24 11-17 70.

3-Pointers: Moore (4), Butler (3), McKie, Besson, Harris, Croft.

South Aiken (8-15, 1-9 Region 5-AAAA)-Jordan Dingle 6 1-2 13, Raheem Kirkland 1 1-1 3, Walker Taylor 2 0-0 6, Chauncey Soloman 1 0-2 3, Jordan Scott 1 2-3 4, Sam Okey 1 0-0 3, Austin Kyles 1 1-2 3, Jonathan Williams 4 0-0 9, Derrick West 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 5-10 46.

3-Pointers: Taylor (2), Soloman, Okey, Williams.

Noah Feit is a reporter for the Aiken Standard, will celebrate the Giants' victory in the Super Bowl for years to come and welcomes everyone to join him.