May River’s remarkable girls basketball season ended in the Class 3A Lower State finals Saturday with a 54-40 loss to top-ranked Marion at the Florence Center.
The Sharks got off to a strong start Saturday, but the Swamp Foxes rallied to end May River’s 14-game winning streak and claim a spot in the state championship game against Keenan next weekend.
May River led 10-9 after one quarter, but the Swamp Foxes outscored the Sharks 17-10 in the second quarter to take control and pulled away in the fourth quarter after wearing down the Sharks.
Jordan Bigham came up big for the Sharks on Saturday with a game-high 16 points, but the Swamp Foxes limited her post partner Chynna Sneed to seven points and used their length on the perimeter to slow down May River’s talented guards. Gracyn Drury scored eight points, all in the first half, and Emma Peluso added six for the Sharks.
Kimmie Barnes scored 15 points and Keyla Britt added 14 to lead the Swamp Foxes, as the duo combined for 17 in the second half. The Sharks limited all-state wing Tonaja Lester to two points in the first three quarters, but the junior broke out for seven points in the fourth to help Marion seal the win.
The defeat was the first in 2020 for the Sharks (19-7), who tested themselves early in the season and lost their final two games at the Battle of Buckhead in the last week of 2019 before going on a tear. They went undefeated in region play en route to their second consecutive region title and made a historic run to the state semifinals in the program’s fourth year.