FLORENCE - Making their first trip to the Upper State Finals in 13 years, the Clinton High varsity girls’ basketball team couldn’t pull off a three-peat in defeating tough and experienced Eau Claire Tuesday evening.
Down 9-0 before they could even get settled and 11-3 after Ry’Daijia Mars’ 3-pointer finally scratched the scoreboard for Clinton, the Lady Red Devils scrapped back to 15-12 at the half, before eventually falling 41-30.
Had it been Clinton’s night, it could have been the third win this season over the battle-tested Shamrocks – all 5 of their starters are seniors – as Clinton won on Feb. 6 and 7, 36-28 and 34-31, in region action. The victories cemented Clinton’s 2nd consecutive region championship, something their coach John Gardner said is a building block for the future.
“It was tough. I thought the moment (playing in the semi-finals), we never could get in the moment to calm down from the opening tip. We went on a little run there at the half to make it 15-12, and we thought that would settle them down a little bit; but we could never get settled. We never really gave ourselves a chance to win.
“That’s a good team. All 5 of their starters are seniors. They’ve played a lot of games. We were able to get them twice in the regular season, but they outplayed us tonight.”
Clinton cut it to a 2-point game in the 3rd quarter on an 8-0 run. Eau Claire, out of Columbia, made a couple jump shots and, in the midst of that, Clinton turned it over two times for layups and “when we struggle offensively, that’s a lot,” Gardner said.
“I am proud of this group, 23-6, back-to- back region champions, and most of them are coming back. I’m excited about the group. I told them, we want to use tonight’s experience to drive next year and get back here and get over the hump.
“That’s our goal.”
McKenzie Clark led Clinton in scoring with 7 points. Destinee Tiller led all scorers with 14 for Eau Claire.
Nah’shia Wright’s 3-pointer at the 3rd quarter buzzer put Eau Claire’s lead at 32-24, and the lead had expanded to 38-28 by 2:33 left in the game. Putting the Shamrocks on the foul line was not an immediate solution, because Clinton’s defense had not yet put Eau Claire in the bonus (1-and-1). An Eau Claire layup and foul shot expanded the lead to 40-28, and by the :25.7 to play mark, Clinton was still down by 10.
The game in Florence was part of a Final Four-type tournament for all 5 classifications, boys and girls, at The Florence Center, Feb. 27 – March 8. High-scoring Andrew Jackson will play Eau Claire on Saturday for the Class AA State Championship – the Andrew Jackson, Kershaw, girls defeated Marion, 100-41; Atlantic Collegiate, 99-45; and Lake City, 96-33, to earn their spot in the final, improving to 26-3. Their senior Tamia Watkins scored 30 or more points for the 11th consecutive time this season.
Clinton advanced to this year’s Final Four with a 40-30 win over Fairfield Central, with Bryanna Belton scoring 14 points. It was a comeback win, as the Griffins led 15-13 at the half, and it was Clinton’s third win of the season over Fairfield Central, out of Winnsboro. The Lady Red Devils went 10-0 in AA Region 3 play this season.
Ry’Daijia Mars, Bryanna Belton, and Ja’Neshia Burton are seniors for the 2024-25 team.
