By Craig Brown

The Latta High School Lady Vikings faced off against the Lady Cavaliers of Christ Church Episcopal Saturday, March 7, in Columbia at the Colonial Life Arena for the SCHSL Class A girl’s state basketball championship.

Click here to view more photos from the game!

The Lady Vikings battled hard but could not overcome the much taller Cavalier team which won the match 61-45.

The Vikings had three players play the entire 32 minutes on the court. A fourth managed 31 minutes and a fifth was in the game for 26, giving the Vikings only seven minutes of substitution compared to the Cavaliers, who only had one player go the 32 minute mark with little to no change in their play on the court when they made substitutions.

The Vikings relied heavily on the shooting of Takeria Legette who produced more than 60% of the Vikings’ points with 28 coming from five three-pointers, six two pointers, and one free throw.

The Cavaliers had four players with double digit scores. The Cavaliers out-rebounded the Vikings 41-28 and had double the steals at 12-6.

The Cavaliers jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The first period ended with the Cavaliers up 20-9. The Vikings fought hard in the second period and came up one point under the Cavaliers at 15-16 but went into the halftime break trailing the Cavaliers 36-24.

The third period was a bit of a defensive battle with the Cavaliers producing 10 points and the Vikings six, upping the Cavalier lead by 16 points to 46-30. The Vikings matched the Cavaliers with 15 points each in the fourth period, but the outcome was already decided with the championship going to the Lady Cavaliers, who will likely long remember this hard fought 61-45 win over one of the most noted girls basketball programs in the state.

A lower state championship is something to be proud of, and the citizens of Latta and Dillon County can be proud of the Lady Viking basketball team. The Lady Vikings played hard and never quit which is the mark of a champion.

In addition to her 28 points, Takeria Legette added one assist, six rebounds, and a steal. Others on the board for Latta included Mallory Townsend with nine points and five rebounds. Maya Wright added four points with 10 rebounds and three steals; Rianna Green added four points with two assists and a rebound; and Iyonna McKenzie had an assist, three rebounds, and two steals.

For the Cavaliers, Shayla Bennett had 21 points, seven assists, eight rebounds, and three steals; Lawren Cook added 14 points, three assists, seven rebounds, and three steals; Abbie Posta added 10 points with 10 rebounds and a steal; Sarah Robinson earned 10 points, four assists, four rebounds, and two steals; Paula Pieper added four points with an assist, a rebound, and a steal; Bailey Breazeale added two points with six rebounds and a steal; Kendal Kipper added a rebound; and Darcy Merline added a steal.

Congratulations to the Lady Vikings and the coaching staff on a fantastic season.

Photos by Craig Brown. Click the images below to view at full size!