Red Devils overwhelm Cardinals, advance to 2A quarters
Clinton PG Mylayja Thompson (5) goes up for 2 Thursday night during the Red Devils’ 45-19 playoff win over visiting Landrum.
Clinton got off to a fast start Thursday night on its way to the quarterfinals of the Class 2A state playoffs, while the Red Devils’ stifling defense made sure visiting Landrum never really got started at all.
The Red Devils advanced to the Round of 8 with a 45-19 victory over the defending Upper State champion Cardinals.
Clinton will host Region 3-2A foe Fairfield Central (11-11) Tuesday in the quarterfinals. The Griffins, who finished third behind Clinton and Eau Claire in Region 3, upset Cheraw 75-59 Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Against Landrum, the Red Devils started the game on a 10-2 run over the first four minutes and went on a 9-0 run over the first four minutes of the third quarter, extending a 10-point halftime lead to 31-12 midway through the period.
“You never know how a game is going to start, especially in the playoffs because of nerves,” said Clinton head coach John Gardner. “But we’ve been playing well and shooting well. We talked at halftime – they’re the defending Upper State champs, and they’re not going to lay down. We were able to get a few baskets there at the start of the third and kind of separated.”
McKenzie Clark led the Red Devils (22-5) with 16 points, and Bryanna Belton added 11, including three first-half 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, Clinton’s man-to-man defense frustrated the Cardinals (15-14) from beginning to end and held leading scorer Kyle Fortner to 9 points – 8 points below her season average.
Clinton’s Bryanna Belton (14) makes a pass during Thursday’s playoff win over Landrum.
The victory sets up a rematch with Fairfield Central from the teams’ regular-season finale on Feb. 13.
The Red Devils won that game 39-18 in Winnsboro. Clinton also won the Jan. 28 meeting with the Griffins 40-23, so now the Red Devils will need to beat Fairfield Central for the third time in as many meetings this season.
Gardner said that isn’t always an easy task.
“They’re a really good time, and we played really well against them both times, and we beat them,” Gardner said. “We’re going to have to do that a third time.”
