By Craig Brown

The Lady Knights from St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Greenville must have felt that they had walked into an ambush Saturday morning in Columbia at the Colonial Life Arena as they tried to stop the relentless attack of the Lady Vikings of Latta High School as the two teams faced off for the single A state basketball championship with the high strung Lady Vikings taking the title by an amazing 65-39 margin.

The Vikings were far more physical Saturday than the Knights and to be honest were just balls of fire on the court. Head Coach Curtis Jackson and his staff are to be commended for the physical condition of their team. I have attended a few women’s college basketball games courtside and I can assure you that the little ladies from Latta have all of the stamina the athletes in the next level possess. The Knights were an outstanding team but they were doomed before they entered the arena Saturday morning because the Lady Vikings were not only well coached, talented and in great physical condition but they possessed that burning desire to win.

All eleven members of the Viking squad saw some action Saturday. Some of the players can be considered as stars but the team made and finished the season as a team of one. Viking Center Maya Wright played 22 minutes of the active 32 minutes before fouling out. Maya is so quick that it appeared that the Knight ball handlers were getting tangled up and tripping themselves trying to get away from her. I don’t believe the referees had seen this type of speed and aggressiveness in a player and assumed a foul was committed. Maya’s defensive play made a big impact in the game.

Although the Vikings only managed a 13-9 first quarter lead the game was never in doubt and by the half time break the Vikings had a 34-19 lead. The lead was increased by two points in the third quarter as Latta took a 51-34 lead and finished with the 26-point blowout 65-39 win. Rarely are championship games ever decided by so large a margin.

Viking forwards Mallory Townsend and Takeria Legette played an almost perfect game as did guards Brittany Burgess and Jessica Evans. Iyonna McKenzie replaced Maya Wright after she received her fifth foul and kept the winning pace going.

On the board for the Knights, guard Maeve McNamara had 18 points, four rebounds, and two steals; guard Elizabeth Bannio had 11 points, two rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots; forward Michelle Malsch had five points and 10 rebounds; guard Imani King had three points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist; guard Leah Saunders added a point with a rebound and five steals; Madeline Fric added a point with two steals; Agnes Stanton grabbed four rebounds; Melissa Mohr picked up four rebounds; and Kayla Berbue snagged two rebounds with a steal.

On the board for the Vikings, forward Takeria Legette had 20 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and four steals; guard Jessica Evans had 18 points, six rebounds, an assist, and a steal; guard Brittany Burgess had 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, nine steals, and a blocked shot; forward Mallory Townsend had 11 points with nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals; Maya Wright had three points with 16 rebounds, two assists, and eight blocked shots; Iyonna McKenzie had three rebounds and two steals; Margaret Desser grabbed three rebounds; and Tyjhane Faison and Michia Johnson each picked up a rebound for the Vikings.

Latta finished the season with a 19-4 record, while St. Joseph’s run ended at 21-8 for the season.

After the game and team photos, assistant coach Chris German rounded up four of the starting five for an interview with The Dillon Herald. Sadly Mallory Townsend could not be found but brief interviews were given by the other four that to my amazement were still not out of breath.

Junior Maya Wright stated that she knew without a doubt that the Vikings were going to win the game and was never afraid for a minute during the game. Maya wants to go to college and major in sports medicine and play basketball. Maya has no preference and states she will play for any team that will have her as long as it has a good reputation for academics.

Sophomore TaKeria Legette also had no doubts or fears during the game. TaKeria stated that the Vikings just wanted it more and no team could have stopped them. She has not yet made up her mind about her future but would like to play college basketball.

Senior Brittany Burgess wasn’t assured until late in the third quarter that the Vikings were going to win. Brittany was proud of her teammates and will never forget this season. Brittany will be playing basketball next year for Lander College.

Senior Jessica Evans stated she wasn’t over her fear until the final buzzer sounded.

“This was a high pressure game and St. Joseph was a very good team and I was afraid until the end,” she said.

Jessica plans to enter the United States Army after graduation and play on one of their base teams. Jessica will find out these are very competitive teams but she has the talent in my opinion to play with the best.

It is always gratifying when I get to see one of our county teams play in a championship game and even better when they win.