Both Dillon’s Lady Wildcats and Latta’s Lady Vikings ranked in the top 10 in the South Carolina Basketball Coaches preseason polls this week.

Latta was ranked fifth in the state in Class A girls basketball with Hemingway in first, McCormick in second, Carvers Bay third, and St. Joseph’s fourth.

Whale Branch was ranked sixth; Ridge Spring-Monetta, seventh; Timmonsville in eighth; Denmark-Olar ninth; and Christ Church rounded out the list in tenth.

Both Latta and Lake View made it into the Class A playoffs in 2013, but neither made it past the first round. Latta fell 57-56 to Carvers Bay, while Lake View was eliminated 71-23 by Timmonsville, whose Sade Eli was noted as an Elite Girl and one of the top 5 seniors in Class A. Hemingway defeated Timmonsville for the lower state title and went on to claim the state title with McCormick finishing as runner-up.

In Class 2A, Dillon’s Lady Wildcats were ranked tenth in the state. Fairfield Central topped the list, with Bishop England in second, Columbia in third, Newberry in fourth, and Cheraw rounding out the top 5.
Kingstree, Mullins, Abbeville, and Keenan filled out the rest of the top ten.

Last season, Dillon made it into the second round of playoffs before falling 59-52 to Lake City. Keenan won the state championship, defeating Bishop England 46-41.

In Class 3A, Lower Richland topped the list, followed by Orangeburg Wilkinson, Dreher, Crestwood, and Wren. Lower Richland won the state title last season with Orangeburg finishing as runner-up.

In Class 4A, West Ashley was first with Dorman, Spring Valley, Dutch Fork, and Greenwood rounding out the top five. Dutch Fork is the defending champion, and Dorman finished as last years upper state champ.

The high school basketball season officially begins on Monday, December 2.