Bishops dominate, girls’ squad claims first Class AAAA region title

Paul Runey’s accomplishments as the coach of the Bishop England High School girls’ basketball team are impressive and have been well documented.

 

He’s been the coach for 41 years and led his teams to 826 victories and six state championships in nine appearances.

 

On Feb. 7, he reached another impressive milestone as the Bishops bashed the Bluffton Bobcats 63-33. 

 

The road win gave Runey and his Bishop teams 25 region championships.

 

“Winning never gets old,” said Runey, whose team was scheduled to close out regular-season action on Feb. 11 with a home game against Colleton County. “But what I enjoy most is having a group of kids who work hard and feeling like I helped them reach their potential. Winning and losing, that’s the easy part. What’s more important is how well we’ve played.”

 

The Bishops have celebrated success in region play like few teams in the Palmetto State. The Bishops had a stretch from 2011-23 when they won 129 consecutive league games.

 

The victory over Bluffton gave the Bishops their first region title as a Class AAAA school. The Bishops will begin the playoffs with a home game and will host a second home game if they win the playoff opener.

 

The Bishops competed against schools with bigger enrollment prior to their move to Class AAAA. This year’s schedule included some games against out-of-state teams and some of the better Class AAAAA teams, including Wando.

 

The Bishops were 28-3 last winter but lost seven players to graduation. Runey was surprised when the state coaches’ association ranked his team No. 10 in the state among Class AAAA schools to begin the season.

 

But the Bishops have been impressive and own a 12-game winning streak as they headed into the regular-season finale.

 

The team lost talent, but the talent cupboard and the trophy case at BE are never bare.

 

The team’s nucleus includes Hannah Rosato, Olivia Allen, Lilly Tawes, Hadley Irvine and Lissie van de Erve.

 

Rosato leads the team with 14.8 points a game, while the sophomore Allen is scoring 11.8 points per game. 

 

The junior Irvine is also in double figure with 10.3 points.

 

Van de Erve is second in rebounding and assists, while Tawes leads the team with 3.8 assists.

 

While Runey’s resume is impressive, there’s work to be done. His 826 win total is second all-time in the Palmetto State among girls’ coaches.

 

Only Anne Long has more. She coached at Wilson, Boiling Springs, Union, Lower Richland, Dutch Fork and Spring Valley from 1974-2015 and collected 861 career victories.

 

But for now, Runey is focused on closing out the season with a deep playoff run.

 

“The girls have really stepped up,” he said. “We had some losses from last year’s team, but the way the kids have played together is impressive. 

 

BE BOYS

Meanwhile, the Bishop England boys dropped a close encounter against Bluffton, as the Bobcats rallied for a 58-50 victory.

 

The Bishops led 26-23 at halftime, but Bluffton outscored the Bishops 21-9 in the decisive third quarter to gain its 20th victory against two losses. The Bobcats are 7-1 in league play.

 

Bishop England fell to 11-14, including 4-5 in the region.