Five Lowco area basketball stars were named to the S.C. Basketball Coaches Association’s All-State teams released Wednesday.
Three girls standouts and two boys stars from the area were named to the prestigious lists, which included 16 boys and 16 girls in each of the S.C. High School League’s five classifications.
On the girls side, Bluffton’s Tatyana Aiken (Class 4A), May River’s Emma Peluso (Class 3A), and Whale Branch’s Zhani Thompson (Class 2A) each made the cut. Ridgeland-Hardeeville’s Mauriq Singleton (Class 3A) and Whale Branch’s Nick Pringle (Class 2A) represented the Lowco on the boys side.
Aiken led the Bobcats to an undefeated mark in Region 7-4A and helped them advance to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs Tuesday. The senior is averaging 15.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 6.1 steals, and 2.6 blocks.
Peluso is the primary ballhandler and one of the top defenders for the Region 8-3A champion Sharks, who will host Dillon in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs Thursday. She is averaging 8.3 points, five assists and five steals.
Thompson is a versatile wing who has helped revive Whale Branch’s program and lead the Warriors to a 19-7 record and their first playoff win since 2016. The junior is averaging 11.1 points and 11.6 rebounds for the Warriors, and she had 11 double-doubles in the regular season.
Singleton is one of the leaders of a Jaguars team that won its seventh consecutive region title and is trying to get back to the Class 3A state championship game for the third consecutive year. The senior wing is averaging 11.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals for the Jags, who breezed into the second round of the playoffs Tuesday.
Pringle has the Warriors heading into the Class 2A playoffs as the No. 3 team in the state. The Wofford signee is averaging 15.2 points and 10.9 rebounds in his senior campaign, and Whale Branch’s only region loss came when Pringle was sidelined due to illness. Last week he was picked to represent South Carolina in the Carolinas Classic All-Star Game.
