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SEHS girls step up to hold off Rebels
Kyjana Jordan
Effingham County's Kyjana Jordan (10) begins her drive to the basket as South Effingham's Justine Nevels (23) defends. Jordan finished with a game-high 19 points but the Mustangs won 56-42. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

 

SPRINGFIELD – With 7.6 seconds to go in the first half Friday night, South Effingham girls basketball standout Elena Hairston bumped into an Effingham County ballhandler, drawing an official’s whistle.

Mustangs coach Alexus Parker certainly didn’t like the sound of that.

It was Hairston’s third foul. She sat for most of the third quarter, then picked up her fourth foul at 2:46 of the third and the all-region guard marched back to the bench.

But the uneasy scenario never played out in a game-changing disaster. Freshman guard Kailyn Chapman scored seven points in the fourth quarter and SEHS held on for a 56-42 win at the Rebels’ gym.

The Mustangs (4-11, 1-1 Region 2-6A) won their ninth straight game in the all-time series with their county rival. 

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Parker said. “I want Elena to play hard, but she has to be smart. In another situation (foul trouble) could have been detrimental.”

Effingham County (4-8, 0-1 Region 2-6A) was in a similar situation and ran shorthanded without high-scoring Kyjana Jordan (leg cramps) for several minutes of the first quarter and South capitalized. Six different Mustangs scored during an 18-2 run that turned a 7-5 deficit into a 23-9 advantage.

SEHS built the lead to 19, 34-15, before some drama returned to the game when Hairston picked up her third foul.

Chapman scored on a jumper for the first basket of the third quarter to extend the lead to 21, 36-15, but Baylee Hodges and the Rebels fought back.

Hodges, a sophomore guard, scored eight of her season-high 16 points during a 12-2 spurt that trimmed South’s lead to 11, 38-27.

Hodges’ layup with 5:22 to go made it a 10-point game, 42-32.

Hayden Johanson
South Effingham's Hayden Johanson (22) works inside against Effingham County's Taniya Proctor (20) last Friday. South's girls won 56-42. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)
But the Mustangs answered with Chapman’s timely shooting binge.

“With Kailyn, it’s just (building) confidence,” Parker said. “I think for all the girls, it showed them the light. This game shows them what they’re capable of doing.”

SEHS could have had a greater margin of victory, but shot only 13-of-35 from the free-throw line.

Chapman finished with 14 points, tying Hairston for team-high scoring honors.

Hayden Johanson helped jumpstart the offense with six points in the first quarter and finished with 10 points.

For ECHS, Jordan heated up in the second half and scored 14 of her game-high 19 points after intermission.

Hodges had 10 of her 16 points in the second half. She had 10 points three nights earlier in a win against McIntosh County Academy, but had only eight points all season before the MCA game.

The Mustangs and Rebels will meet for a second time this season on Jan. 19 at SEHS.