Conway girls score first playoff victory in 27 years

More than a generation of Conway girls basketball players couldn’t do what the current squad just did.

Playing arguably their most dominant game of the season, the Tigers defeated Fort Dorchester 60-44 in the opening round of the Class AAAA playoffs on Tuesday, giving the program its first postseason victory in 27 years.

“I’m just ecstatic for them to be able to accomplish this,” ninth-year head coach Shamae Hemingway said. “I want them to be respected. But I can’t make people respect them. Now, with them taking this step, to be honest, maybe people will start looking at Conway basketball a little different.”

The program’s last playoff victory came in 1989 against Walterboro, the school that in 2002 became known at Colleton County. Between then and now, the Tigers had very few opportunities to notch one. For instance, they had qualified for the postseason just three times since 2000 and had not been there since 2008.

That all changed during the Region VI-AAAA slate this year, when Conway went 7-3 and finished behind only Class AAAA No. 4 Sumter in standings. That success rolled into Tuesday, and it certainly looked like the Tigers were taking out nearly three decades of aggression. After the Patriots arrived approximately two minutes prior to the scheduled start time and delayed the start of the game, Conway jumped all over them.

Fort Dorchester missed its first seven shots from the floor before Sha’Terra Ferrell’s bucket five minutes into the game. By that point, the Tigers had also forced nine turnovers and were up 16-4. Conway led 26-9 at the end of the first, using plenty of fast-break points off all those turnovers to spur the charge.

Hemingway’s team slowed some in the second quarter offensively while still playing ultra aggressive. It finished the first half with major rebounding advantage and caused 17 turnovers.

All that led to the second-most points (37) the Tigers had scored in a half all year, not to mention the team’s largest halftime lead (26 points) of the the season so far.

“I thought it would be a little tougher,” forward Janecia Hemingway said. “But we did work hard to get this win – for a long time.”

Following the early runaway, the second half turned out to be largely inconsequential, even after Fort Dorchester connected on five 3-pointers in the final period. A trio of Tigers sophomores – Aishera Williams (16 points), Hemingway (12) and Lenaejha Evans (11) – all finished in double figures, as did junior Zakera Chadmon, who capped off the night with 12.

The effort meant Conway could start making plans for a second-round game at Goose Creek on Friday. The postseason drought was over.

“I think we earned it. And I think the hard work did pay off,” Shamae Hemingway said. “… I think they matured. And we saw that.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Conway girls score first playoff victory in 27 years."