SUMTER — The coronation was just about to begin Saturday at the Sumter Civic Center when everything turned on a dime.
After starting the second half with a quick 5-0 spurt to stretch their lead to 18, the Hilton Head Christian Academy girls appeared poised to cruise to their second straight SCISA 2A title.
They had no idea the fight that lay ahead.
HHCA answered a furious Spartanburg Christian comeback with a rally of their own in the final minute to escape with a 53-51 victory to cap a game — and season — the Eagles won’t soon forget.
Skylar Smith’s 3-pointer with 27 seconds left regained the lead for the Eagles, and the Warriors were unable to connect on three chances to tie it in the final seconds, as HHCA (30-2) hung on for its 18th consecutive victory.
“I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to pull this off, because it was destined for us,” said senior Jasmine Campbell, who scored 13 points in her HHCA finale. “We worked hard. We played all the hardest teams that we could out of region — Savannah schools, Savannah public schools — and we really worked hard, and we got it done.”
Dior Shelton scored 15 of her team-high 20 points in the first half, including eight straight during an 8-2 run that helped the Eagles push the margin to 34-19 at halftime. HHCA followed kept the momentum going after the break, as Abby Peduzzi drained a 3-pointer and Campbell scored inside to bump the score to 39-21.
The Warriors began to cut into the lead by getting to the foul line, and when HHCA senior point guard Brielle McCarthy went to the bench after being called for her fourth foul and a sizable Spartanburg Christian crowd began chanting, “SCA! SCA!,” the Eagles could feel the pressure mounting.
Without McCarthy, the Eagles appeared lost at both ends of the floor as the Warriors rattled off a 22-2 run.
“We play off of her, that’s our playmaker,” Campbell said of her fellow senior. “So when she went out we had to regroup, reorganize and figure a new way, new strategy. And they were starting to knock down all their 3s, so we had to regroup and get her back in and try to pull the lead back out.”
Kayla Camacho and Samantha Arp led the rousing comeback, as Camacho repeatedly drove to the basket and converted at the line, and Arp drained a pair of monster 3-pointers, including one at the third period buzzer that cut the margin to 41-36.
“We tried to stop (Camacho) basically by hoping the clock was going to run out, because that girl’s got a motor on her,” HHCA coach Kenny Conroy said. “She has a left hand, she has a right hand. She can do things that not many can.”
She nearly did the unthinkable and led the Warriors back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to stun the defending champs. Camacho’s transition bucket gave SCA the lead with 1:16 to play, and she drove to her left again and converted to make it 51-49 with 53 second remaining.
The Eagles were struggling to get into their offense as they sought the tying or go-ahead bucket, but Shelton got open at the top of the key and the defense collapsed to her, leaving Smith all alone on the left wing.
“She’s a pure shooter, and there’s not a girl in our program that works harder than Skyler Smith,” Conroy said. “She’s in the gym at 7 o’clock in the morning with the shooting gun out shooting baskets, shooting baskets, shooting baskets. She’s taken the step two steps up the ladder and improving her game.”
Nothing but net, and a 52-51 lead.
Even then, it seemed the Eagles were in trouble. McCarthy fouled out on what appeared to be a clean steal on the ensuing possession, but the Warriors missed both foul shots and Shelton hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point game.
Still, the Eagles needed one more stop. They had to make three.
“The ball wasn’t bouncing our way on that last possession,” Conroy said. “You know, they missed a shot. They got the rebound. I was grateful to see the girl try to tap it in and not come down and make a power move up to the basket. And then the clock finally ran out. It was the longest six seconds I’ve had in a while.”
Story and photos by Justin Jarrett
