Latta’s Lady Vikings cruised to a 60-31 win over Cross’s Lady Trojans on Monday night in the Class A girls lower state basketball semifinals in Cross, SC.

Latta took a 23-7 lead in the first quarter and held on to the lead through the rest of the game. The Lady Vikings outscored Cross 20-7 in the second and 15-11 in the third for a 58-25 lead. The Trojans went 6-2 in the fourth quarter to wrap up the game at 60-31.

TaKeria Legette earned a game-high 29 points to lead Latta and Mallory Townsend added 16. Maya Wright scored 12 points in the win, and Madelia Johnson contributed three points for the Vikings.

Cross was led by Jayla Ravenell with a team-high 19 points. Carde’Ja Ferguson and Tyjalay Halls each earned four points, with Zelphair Grant adding three and Allyshia Wigfall scoring one.

Cross finishes the season with a 17-9 record and the Region 6-A championship.

Latta improved to 16-5 as they advanced to the lower state championship where they will face the Carvers Bay Bears on Saturday, February 28, at the Florence Civic Center at 11:00 a.m.

The Vikings and the Bears have already clashed twice this season, with Latta winning the first encounter 61-51 on January 27. But Carvers Bay took the second game 63-42 on February 10 on their way to their first ever region title. This is also their first trip to the lower state championship.

Carvers Bay defeated Timmonsville 61-59 on Monday night at Timmonsville to advance to the lower state title game.

The Lady Whirlwinds took a 15-7 lead in the first quarter, but Carvers Bay outscored Timmonsville 19-17 in the second to trail 32-26 at the half. A 25-19 effort from the Bears in the third quarter tied things up at 51, and the Bears pushed for a 10-8 fourth quarter. LaQuasha Coles scored with 30 seconds on the clock to put the Bears up 60-59, and Tierra Young got a steal and scored on a free throw with 4.6 seconds left to help secure the win.

Desaree Green led the Bears with a game-high 26 points with Quantaisha Robinson adding 13. Zaria Blain scored 10; Anatashia Bromell, 7; LaQuasha Coles, 4; and Tierra Young, 1.

Timmonsville’s Justice Gee scored 24 points to lead the Whirlwinds, with Shania Wright adding 19. Alaya Woods scored 13, and Makyla Commander added three in the effort.

Timmonsville finished the season with a 19-4 record while Carvers Bay improved to 17-3.

In the upper state bracket, Christ Church defeated Ridge Spring-Monetta 71-31 and Calhoun County defeated C.A. Johnson 54-48 to advance to the upper state championship at Bon Secours Arena on Saturday.

Christ Church is 25-2 overall heading into the title game, with their only losses coming in tournament games against out of state teams. Calhoun County is 13-3 overall, and both teams were region champions in conference play.

The winners of Saturday’s games will advance to the Class A State Championship game on Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m. at Colonial Center.