Chiefs boys, girls varsity basketball teams in state playoff games this week

The North Myrtle Beach boys and girls basketball teams both won their final region games last week and start 6AAAA playoffs this week.

Both teams travelled to Marlboro County for their last region games of the season. The girls squad that beat Marlboro County 58-45 on Jan. 24 slipped by the Lady Bulldogs by a 63-58 score.  Jenna Berger led the scoring for the Lady Chiefs with 25 points. Daveona Hatchell had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Jordan Berger added 8 points. Jasmine Norman led Marlboro County with 17 points.

Coach Brooke Smith was happy with the win. “Marlboro County is a tough team to play, very athletic and have good scoring guards. It’s also hard to travel that far and play basketball. We had a great game by Daveona Hatchell as she stepped up and played to her full potential that evening.”

By winning, the Lady Chiefs qualified for the South Carolina High School League 6AAAA playoffs as the number two seed and opened play this past Tuesday at North Myrtle Beach against South Aiken, the #4 seed.

“We look forward to playing South Aiken on our home court. We don’t have many stats on them but we watched some film and our goal is to push the ball in transition as much as possible. We certainly are excited to have a game at home and the possibility of moving on in the playoffs,” Smith said.

If the Lady Chiefs win that game they would advance to play the winner between Darlington and #1 seed Bluffton on Friday night, Feb. 21.

The Chiefs also came away from their clash with the Bulldogs with a win as they avenged a 58-53 loss the first time the two teams met at North Myrtle Beach. The Chiefs 59-57 win gave them the #3 seed in the lower state boys tournament as they met #2 seed Hilton Head at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Hilton Head. If they win their game the Chiefs would advance to take on the winner of the North Augusta and Crestwood matchup. That game would be played on Saturday, Feb. 22.