It’s been two weeks since Westgate Christian captured a second consecutive state championship.
But, that hasn’t prevented the buzz inside the program to remain at a fever pitch.
The Eagles — who moved up from the 1A level this season — upset the three-time defending South Carolina Association of Christian Schools 2A champion Hampton Park 49-38 to cap a season filled with adversity.
“All year the entire team had knee issues, an ankle injury, the flu, mono and a wrist injury,” Westgate Christian coach Laurie Holland said. “With all of that, even though we were somewhat banged up, we peaked at the right time and at the top of our game that weekend. I could see a fire in their eyes. Hampton Park had always won championships, and that put a spark behind the girls.”
The Eagles never trailed and were led by USC Upstate signee Ashley Williams with 34 points and sophomore Katelyn Bethea with 16 rebounds.
Each player says the team was better prepared this time around for Hampton Park after dropping a regular-season contest by six points in December.
“We were more confident this time. I think (Hampton Park) was a little overconfident,” Williams said. “We wanted to prove them wrong and really wanted to win which really propelled us.”
“We always had an intimidation factor against them,” Bethea said. “We had to get it out of our heads and were really focused. I still can’t believe we did it. It was amazing.”
The victory would be Holland’s last as she has decided to step down after 14 years of coaching.
She says this year’s team will always be special to her.
“With all the struggles we had this year, I’m just blessed to have coached this team,” Holland said. “They are a remarkable group of girls.”
The WCS ladies Basketball team defeated Northside Christian School 46-40 on Friday to advance to the championship round. The Lady Eagles led from the beginning against Hampton Park in the championship game and went on to win 49-38. Pictures and details to come later!
