North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
By JOHN SMITHSON
The North Myrtle Beach varsity basketball teams ended 2022 with wins, closing out the non-region portion of their season as they prepare for action against 6AAAA teams.
The boys team closed out the year in Greenville at the Poinsettia Classic Tournament.
The Chiefs began the tournament last Tuesday with a 58-54 loss to Wade Hampton, a region 2AAAA team. On Wednesday the Chiefs ended up losing to 5A Sumter by a 55-42 score.
On the last day of the tournament Thursday, the Chiefs picked up a 59-54 win over Greenwood. The Chiefs now get ready for their first region game at Wilson next Friday. The Tigers are 11-3 and the Chiefs go into Wilson with a 6-7 record.
The Lady Chiefs finished out the year with the inaugural NMB Holiday Classic Tournament at North Myrtle Beach High School gym. This four team tournament began last Thursday with a game between Gray Collegiate from West Columbia and Lakewood High School from Sumter. Gray Collegiate dominated the smaller Lakewood team, leading 20-3 after the first period and winning 66-13 over the Lady Gators.
The Lady Chiefs then took on Marion High School in the second game. Faith Farmer got the Chiefs on the scoreboard with a three-pointer from the left side and a 3-0 lead. Kaitlyn Powers added a free throw and a basket to up the lead to 6-0. Farmer then proceeded to score the last Chiefs points for the remainder of the period, a free throw with 3:38 on the clock and a 7-1 lead. She finished the scoring on a layup with 2:14 left in the period for a 9-1 advantage. Marion then scored the last five points in the final minute to trail 9-6.
Marion opened the second period with a three, while the Chiefs didn’t score for almost three minutes due to missed shots and turnovers.
Nevaeh Washington scored on an inbound play under the Chiefs basket for a brief 11-10 lead, but the Lady Swamp Foxes scored the next four points to lead 15-11. Farmer then went on offense, driving for two quick baskets and a 15-15 tie with 2:53 on the clock. Marion wasted opportunities at the foul line, missing four free throws, the last two with .5 seconds on the clock. The Chiefs managed to get a rebound basket from Washington and a Farmer free throw to lead 20-18 at halftime.
Farmer opened the third period with seven straight points, the last three on a shot from the left corner and the Chiefs led 27-23. Maddie Vereen drove for a basket, Farmer scored on a drive and assist from Jaden Berger, Ty’Wreanna Woodard took two rebounds to get a shot to fall, and Washington scored on another rebound for a 35-23 score.
Marion scored only four points the remainder of the period, while the Lady Chiefs continued their offensive display, coupled with strong defense that added more opportunities.
Washington added one free throw after being fouled on a drive, Berger scored underneath, and Vereen added five points on drives to the basket and a free throw after being fouled on a breakaway opportunity. Berger got the last point of the period after being fouled by Marion at the buzzer, standing alone at the foul line and sinking one of two free throws for a 44-27 Chiefs lead.
The Chiefs continued their strong play in the fourth period. A Woodard basket and two Vereen free throws after a steal and foul on a drive to the basket made the score 48-27.
Marion closed to within 48-31, before the Chiefs reeled off twelve unanswered points to lead 60-31. A Powers free throw, basket and free throw from Berger, Woodard basket and two driving layups by Kristin Livingston highlighted that scoring run.
The Chiefs then fought off any attempt by Marion to get back into the game, winning by a 66-39 score. Farmer led the Lady Chiefs with 20 points. Woodard scored 10, Vereen 8 and Washington and Livingston each had 8 points.
Day two of the classic began with the consolation game between Lakewood and Marion. Marion won that game 50-34 to finish in third place and set up the championship game between Gray Collegiate and the Lady Chiefs.
That game started much like the game with Marion. The two teams offenses were slow to get going. The Chiefs got an early basket from Woodard underneath, then didn’t score again until the 4:21 mark of the period, a three-pointer from Faith Farmer to give the Chiefs a 5-4 lead. The rest of the period was up and down the court with tie ups and turnovers changing possessions.
The Chiefs scored on a Washington put-back of a missed free throw and a Farmer free throw, as the period ended with NMB in front 8-6.
Early second period action was mostly confined to the Chiefs end of the court. Farmer made two free throws with seven minutes on the clock, and following a quick missed shot by the War Eagles, Vereen got loose in the foul lane for a Chiefs basket and a timeout by Collegiate with a 12-6 NMB lead. The War Eagles then came out with a quick basket in the lane, but Farmer responded with a drive and bank-in from the right side for two points. The War Eagles responded with two baskets scored down low to trail 14-12. Livingston banked in a shot for two to make it 16-12.
Gray Collegiate was controlling their end of the court and were at the foul line four times over the next minute, but managed only one point on eight chances at the line. The Chiefs had trouble scoring, adding only four points over the last three minutes of the period, while the visitors also missed shots and opportunities, the halftime ending with the Chiefs leading 20-17.
Coach Smith-Vereen used all her time in the locker room to go over some of the first half issues. Farmer got the first two points of the period on a breakaway jumper, but Gray Collegiate came back with a three-pointer and it was 22-21.
The Chiefs scored the next four points on a Woodard basket on a pass from Powers, and a Vereen rebound shot on the baseline. That 26-22 score remained almost the same over the last four minutes of the period, the Chiefs not hitting anything, but the War Eagles only able to add three points as the period ended with the Chiefs up 26-25.
The first two minutes of the fourth period were not productive on offense for either team. The Chiefs finally scored on two free throws from Vereen after she was fouled driving for a score. Farmer hit a three almost a minute later, and thirty seconds after that Berger scored for a 33-25 Chiefs lead. The War Eagles finally scored on two foul shots with 3:50 left in the game.
Two free throws by Farmer put the Chiefs on top 35-29 with 3:03 left on the clock. The next two minutes were missed chances by both teams, turnovers by the Chiefs and missed shots by the War Eagles, and the Chiefs took a timeout with 1:18 to go in the game. The Chiefs made their final points on trips to the foul line as the War Eagles were forced to foul. Farmer made three of her four shots on two visits and Berger hit one for a final score of 39-32. The only points scored by Gray Collegiate in the last three minutes was a three pointer that was too late to make a difference.
The Lady Chiefs were champions of the Holiday Classic and proud to receive their tournament trophy. After a few minutes to celebrate with a team picture, coach Brooke Smith-Vereen spoke about the results and some of what lies ahead for her team.
“The purpose of playing this tournament again is to make sure that we have competitive play before we get into region play next week at Wilson. I just wanted to have some games in before that. Even in the Marion game we struggled in the first half, figuring out what to do. We hadn’t played in about a week and it took us a while in the second half before we got on the gas pedal and got it done.”
“Then we played Collegiate, a very tough team. They played a lot of the teams that we have played and beat most of them. We knew they were going to be a tough team to beat. It was tooth and nail the whole way. But we kept the lead every quarter. That was our goal. We won the first three quarters, so I said we just have to win the last one. They came out and closed it out and we won the game,” Smith-Vereen said.
Next week the Chiefs move into a very competitive region 6AAAA and Smith-Vereen reflected on what has changed for the team due to injuries to two key players.
“We are excited about region play. We know it’s going to be tough. We were ranked second in preseason polls and we know that could be affected by the players we were able to play, like Destinee and Riley. Obviously that has changed now. But the girls are stepping up. The ones coming off the bench, the young ones, the old ones, everybody is coming in and playing a role, and it’s really making us a great team. We are putting everything together and are jelling. It’s going to be a long month and a half, but we are going to take it day by day, quarter by quarter, and just do the best we can in this region,”Smith-Vereen concluded.
