Wando girls pick up rare win against Bishops

DANIEL ISLAND — Bishop England heaved the ball toward the rim, gathered the rebound and tossed it back up four times before Wando finally corralled possession. The seemingly innocuous 10 seconds were just a small microcosm of the previous 30 minutes of the game. “Missed opportunities,” Bishop England coach Paul Runey said. “We had too many mistakes and by the end of the game, it adds up.” Wando took down Bishop England, 59-54, Saturday to capture its first win over the rival Bishops on Daniel Island since 2011. The Lady Warriors (11-1) entered the week ranked fourth in Class AAAAA with one of its two losses coming against Bishop England, the second-ranked team in AAA. Runey predicted before the season began that Wando would be one of the best teams in the area. Saturday, the Bishops coach commended the Warriors defense for controlling the Bishops’ usually potent attack. “I tend to look at what we didn’t do, but I think Wando’s defense didn’t allow us to do some things too,” Runey said. “You have to give them credit. I think our girls hustled. I think they tried hard but we just weren’t smart with the ball at times. You can’t do that against a team like Wando, and we knew this one, hopefully, was going to go down to the wire.” Bishop England trailed by as much as 11 in the final minutes of the third quarter but opened the fourth on a 9-3 run. Rhetta Moore fueled the charge, scoring 11 of her game-high 19 points in the second half. She ignited the capacity crowd with a series of behind-the-back crossovers that led to a scoop layup to pull the Bishops within four points, 47-44, with 5:27 still to play. Still trailing by four, now approaching the final two minutes, the Bishops moved into a full-court trap and twice forced tie-ups on held balls. Neither resulted in any points for Bishop England. The Wando defense held firm and Skylar Blackstock and Ericka Wiseley both sank pairs of free throws at the other end to maintain the Warriors’ two-possession lead. Bishop England got off 71 shot attempts in the game but connected on just 27 percent, including three of 17 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Bishops’ 16 fouls sent the Warriors to the free-throw line 33 times, where they collected 21 of their points, including 10 of their 15 points in the fourth quarter. “You’re not going to win a close ball game when your opponent scores 20 points from the foul line,” Runey said. It was Bishop England’s defense that set the tone early. The Bishops limited Wando to just five points off of two made field goals in the first quarter while opening a six-point advantage. Wando stormed back with a 22-point second quarter, though, powered by a pair of 3-pointers from Clare McTighe and four points from both Blackstock and Wiseley, that pushed the Warriors ahead 27-22 by halftime. McTighe finished the game with 14 points. Blackstock also scored 14 along with 14 rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks. Wiseley added 13 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. While most are familiar with Wando’s leading scorers, McTighe and Blackstock, Runey says Wiseley, a 6-foot-2 junior forward, can be just as dangerous on the inside. “They’ve got some hardnosed kids,” he said. “Blackstock is going to do her thing. If McTighe is hot, I don’t care what you do. And then Wiseley, you cannot let her get on a roll. And she did tonight and I think it made a difference.” Allie Tucker and Katie Brooks both chipped in eight points, while Egede pulled down 11 rebounds. The five-point margin is the tightest in the past 10 games of the Wando River Rivalry. Bishop England has dominated the series of late, winning nine straight from 2011-15. The Warriors, though, are 2-2 against Bishop England since Jeff Emory took over as head coach prior to the 2015-16 season. “I don’t think we’ll face anyone in our region as tough as Wando,” Runey said. “Every coach wants these tough games. You just want to win them. But it can’t do anything but help us. You learn something every time in these kinds of games. And if you can put it all together in the soup and make something out of it come playoffs, then it’s all worth it.”

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Bishop England High School Athletics

WANDO GIRLS PICK UP RARE WIN AGAINST BISHOPS

FRANKIE MANSFIELD

Moultrie News | 1/10/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Frankie Mansfield