Strong start, but slow finish ends Darlington’s chance against Wilson
Photo by Drake Horton
By Drake Horton
Contributing Writer
Darlington – The Darlington Lady Falcons quest to upset the Wilson Lady Tigers this season on the basketball court came to an end with the Lady Falcons losing 66-40 this past Friday at home.
Down only by two at the end of the first quarter, with the score 11-9, Darlington looked in charge of what it wanted to do and energized against a very talented Wilson team that is littered with college prospects.
“I think at first we came out strong, how we talked about and planned before the game,” Darlington girls basketball head coach Brad Knox said. “I told them we have to come out strong we can’t come out in the second half, we have to come out in the first two quarters and be able to produce. We responded well to the adversity at first, but I think the third quarter kind of knocked us out the park. They stretched us, they got good players.”
But by each quarter the Lady Tigers kept stretching their lead. That once slim two-point lead ended up being 26 when the final buzzer sounded.
Wilson is loaded this year, like state title loaded, and Darlington is not quite there yet so this result, while still painful for any competitor, should not come as a surprise.
The way Darlington is playing, however, might come as a surprise to some. The Lady Falcons, following this loss, are now 3-3 on the year with a team so young, which will return so many for next year, the future is really starting to look bright.
“Well each game we are getting better and we have some young guards that we are trying to develop at the moment,” Knox said. “Each game they are gaining game experience and that is what we are looking for from our team and our guards. The more experience you have the better your team is going to be in the future.”
And that future might be right around the corner when region play starts. In the grand scheme of things, none of this game makes much of a difference when it comes to playoffs; it instead, is about where you finish in the region.
Hope Richardson, who finished the night as the leading scorer with 17 points looks to be getting more and more comfortable in the paint, demanding the ball and becoming quite the physical presence.
She, however, is not the only six-footer Knox has that is showing growth in her game. LaDaysha Bonaparte, who finished with 10 points all in the second half and a majority in the fourth quarter is starting to become a person other teams are noticing.
Two of the Falcons three losses this season are to the Lady Tigers.
Kadasia Evans received her 2nd State Championship ring for High Jump in Track at the Friday night game
Photo by Drake Horton
Weekly Recap
In the other games this week the Lady Falcons were able to have success, winning both games on the road against the Marlboro County Lady Bulldogs and the South Florence Lady Bruins.
On Tuesday, December 6, Darlington beat the Lady Bulldogs by a score of 57-43 and on the next night the Lady Falcons took care of South Florence by a score 49-34.