Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009

Holiday Invitational roundup: Spring Valley wins, moves into semifinals

MYRTLE BEACH -- Going to the line was just fine for Spring Valley.

The Vikings went to the foul line 36 times and made 28 foul shots on Monday night in a 67-55 win over Stephenson (Ga.) in the quarterfinals of the Crescent Bank Holiday Invitational at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

Briana Robinson connected on 9-of-10 from the charity stripe and led all scorers with 25 points. Zylina McDaniel, daughter of former NBA star Xavier McDaniel, posted 22 points, nine rebounds and five steals.

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  Socastee senior PJ Brave was determined to finish what he started Friday night.

  Brave, who had opened the game with a 78-yard run while topping 200 yards in the first half alone, kept his legs churning in overtime for the one yard that meant the most.

  Down seven points after West Brunswick scored on its first overtime possession, Socastee was faced with a fourth-and-goal from the 1 with the game on the line. The handoff went to Brave, who looked like he might have initially been stopped at the line of scrimmage. But his legs never stopped moving and the officials soon signaled touchdown - much to the chagrin of the West Brunswick sideline.

• Myrtle Beach Seahawks win state championship in overtime

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  The Myrtle Beach girls basketball team defeated Daniel 64-59 in overtime in the Class AAA state championship game at Colonial Life Arena to claim the fifth state title in team history. The game was tied at 55 after regulation.

  Sophomore guard Khadijah Sessions scored 24 points, including the final three points of the game from the foul line. Freshman Tanisha Brown scored back-to-back Seahawk baskets in overtime to give Myrtle Beach a 61-59 lead.

  Daniel's leading scorer on the season, 5-foot-11 senior guard Anicia Dotson, had 19 points.

• Myrtle Beach girls basketball team wins state championship

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  It was a lot closer than Myrtle Beach's quarterfinal and semifinal victories, and likely even closer than the Seahawks themselves thought it would be.

  But that only added exhilaration to the gamut of joyous emotions the Seahawks experienced on the Colonial Life Arena court before collecting the state championship trophy.

• CNB Kickoff Classic gives fans sneak peek at area teams

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  Myrtle Beach senior receiver Donte Sumpter waited two months to join his teammates on the football field, but it didn't take him long to make an impact in Friday night's 21st annual CNB Kickoff Classic.

  Sumpter caught Myrtle Beach's first offensive play from scrimmage for a 33-yard touchdown and added a 1-yard TD catch minutes later to help the Seahawks defeat Loris 28-8 in one of five 20-minute games at Conway High School.

  Sumpter just joined the Seahawks on the practice field Wednesday because of whiplash suffered in a car accident this summer.

• MVP Jackson leads Storm past Mercury in Game 1

  MVP Jackson leads Storm past Mercury in Game 1

  Lauren Jackson had 23 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Seattle Storm to an 82-74 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

  Jackson, who won her third WNBA MVP award before the game, set a team playoff record for rebounds.

  Svetlana Abrosimova added 16 points for the Storm, Le'Coe Willingham had 10, and Sue Bird handed out 10 assists in Seattle's 19th straight home win.

Spring Valley (10-1) will play the winner of the Peddie Academy (N.J.) - Wesleyan (Ga.) quarterfinal game in the semifinals today at 6:45 p.m.

Stephenson, which lost for the time this season, was led by Keniqua Wyche's 20 points and three steals.

Redan High School (Ga.) 69, Goose Creek 56 | Nia Evans scored a game-best 25 points to lead four Raiders to score in double figures as Redan moved into the semifinals with a win over the Gators.

The Raiders will face Fayette County (Ga.) tonight at 6:45.

Aleighsa Welch had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Elizabeth Seton (Md.) 70, Socastee 35 | Melanie Royster came off the bench and had a game-high 14 points and eight rebounds and the Roadrunners never trailed, jumping out to a 41-8 lead at halftime and cruising past the Braves.

Elizabeth Seton shot 51.9 percent from the floor, while Socastee struggled, going without any fast-break points and being outscored 44-4 in the paint.

Ariel Reaves went 8-for-10 from the foul line to lead Socastee with 10 points.

Socastee will meet Hartsville today at 5 p.m. Elizabeth Seton will face Myrtle Beach at 10 a.m.

Scott County (Ky.) 65, Providence Day (N.C.) 55 | Kristen Stainbeck scored a game-high 31 points on 14-of-20 shooting from the floor. The game was back-and-forth early, with 13 lead changes and the score tied seven times before the Scott County took control in the second half, building a 16-point lead with 1:36 to play.

Parkway Academy (Fla.) 58, Norfolk Christian (Va.) 42 | Destiny Jones went 5-for-5 from the field en route to a team-high 13 points and Dijanelle Fowler had 11 points and seven assists as the Panthers won their 10th game of the season.

Galaisha Goodhope had 18 points and eight rebounds to pace the Ambassadors in the loss.

Parkway will meet Scott County (Ky.) today at 1:45 a.m.; while Norfolk Christian will be Providence Day at 8 a.m. Wednesday.