BE girls on the road to state title...again!

The way Bishop England girls’ basketball coach Paul Runey talked, his team celebrated until it saw the scouting report for Saturday’s Class AAA state championship foe Keenan.

The Bishops reached the state title game for the fifth time in seven years with a 46-22 victory over Dillon over the weekend at the Florence Civic Center. Then the Bishops found out their next opponent is a Keenan team that doesn’t have a glitzy record, but has a golden girl in eighth-grader Milaysia Fulwiley.

Suddenly, the Bishops’ anticipation might have turned to anxiety.

First about Kennan’s record. The Raiders are 19-7 but that might be a little misleading since they opened the season with seven losses in 11 games, playing a tough non-conference schedule that included two games against defending Class AAAA state champ North Augusta.

Keenan, which moved up to Class AAA this year after winning the Class AA state title last season, enters Saturday’s 2 p.m. showdown against the Bishops with a 15-game winning streak.

Now, about that golden girl, Fulwiley. She is a diminutive guard who has simply been dominant. She scored 30 points in the Upper State championship to lead the Raiders to a 75-48 victory over Emerald. She already has offers from programs such as the University of South Carolina and Ole Miss.

But the Bishops became one of the most dominant programs in the state by accepting and conquering most challenges.

Two games ago, the Bishops went up against Swansea all-state selection Danae McNeal, who will play at Clemson, and held her in check. So the Bishops are well versed in shutting down superstars.

And the Bishops know all about stopping teams who are on a roll. Dillon entered Saturday’s game against the Bishops with a 20-0 record, but went home with a 24-point loss.

The Bishops, who upped their record to 27-1 jumped to a 16-5 lead at the end of the first period, and that deficit had to be demoralizing for the Wildcats.

“No doubt about that,” said Runey, after his team rolled to its 34th playoff win in 36 games. “We hope to do the same thing this week. This team (Keenan) has good support and is just not a two-man team. It will be a challenge. This is what a true state championship game should be.”

The Bishops dominated against Dillon, shooting 52 percent from 2-point range, while Dillon hit only 14 percent.

Katie Brooks led the Bishops with 17 points, hitting 6 of 7 from the field. She added seven rebounds, three steals and four assists.

Josie Dennis also had a big effort with eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals.

The Bishops expanded the lead to 32-10 at halftime and outscored the Wildcats 8-1 in the third period.

Saturday’s championship marks the third time Keenan and Bishop England have played for all the state marbles.

The state championship series is tied 1-1. Keenan posted a 46-41 victory over the Bishops in 2013 and the Bishops posted a 53-37 victory in the 2016 state championship.

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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