Each Monday (or Tuesday) throughout the high school girls basketball season, we will recognize the standouts from the previous week’s action.
We will select an offensive and defensive player of the week, as well as a Team of the Week.
Here’s this week’s installment of the Lowco Girls Basketball Spotlight presented by 4M Metals.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emma Peluso, MRHS
It can difficult to quantify a single player’s value to a team, but we can be sure Peluso’s value to the Sharks is immense. One game after being blown out at Bluffton with the senior guard out of the lineup, she returned to score 21 points along with three assists and three steals in a 60-16 rout of Hilton Head High on Friday.
Also nominated: Samari Mitchell, BLHS; Tkai DeVore, JPII; Kynew Barnwell, WB; Coresha Rutledge, BCHS; Mike’Ala Washington, BA; Layla Warren, BHS
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tkai DeVore, JPII
It’s breaking news when DeVore fails to record a double-double — but there’s no news this week, because DeVore was 3-for-3 in the double-double column, giving her four straight. The senior star averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and five steals in three wins this week, and she also had six blocks, including four in a win over a solid Palmetto Christian team.
Also nominated: Tacoya Heyward, BLHS; Zhani Thompson, WB; Kiara Wilson, BCHS; Mike’Ala Washington, BA
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Whale Branch Warriors (3-0 last week, 5-1 overall)
The unofficial Beaufort City Champions (at least for December), the Warriors had a huge week, beating Wade Hampton (36-27) on Tuesday before knocking off crosstown rivals Beaufort High (40-35) and Battery Creek (40-28) over the weekend. LaToya Mack’s team is off to a 5-1 start — the Warriors didn’t get their fifth win until Jan. 18 last season.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Bluffton at Whale Branch, 6 p.m. Tuesday
Two teams off to impressive starts go head-to-head in a Lowco-on-Lowco matchup Tuesday in Seabrook. Some outstanding guard play will be on display with Whale Branch’s Kynew Barnwell going up against Bluffton eighth-grade phenom Tacoya Heyward. Which team can do a better job of slowing down the opponent’s other star — Bluffton’s Tatyana Aiken and Whale Branch’s Zhani Thompson — could determine the winner.
PAST WINNERS
Dec. 9: Zhani Thompson, WB; Tatyana Aiken, BLHS; HHCA
Dec. 16: Emma Peluso, MRHS; Tkai DeVore, JPII; WB