SPRINGFIELD, Ga. — The girls high school basketball season ended in Effingham County on Monday night, with South Effingham aiming to prove it belonged among the elite in the Class 5A Region 1 tournament.
For three quarters, the Mustangs went stride for stride with seventh-ranked Brunswick. But foul trouble and ball-handling miscues sparked a decisive Pirate run, sending South to a 52-39 loss in the tournament’s second round at Effingham County High School.
“How do we get over the hump? Teams like Bradwell (the top seed in the region and second-ranked in the state) and Brunswick — they do all the small things right,” South coach Alexus Parker said. “They make layups. They push the ball in transition. They play good defense collectively. It’s hard to beat a team that’s talented and does all the small things, too.”
Mustangs close gap
Less than a week earlier, South — playing without two starters — had lost to Brunswick by 39 points, 72-33. This time, the Mustangs jumped out to an 8-2 lead and countered a Brunswick surge with a two-minute, 7-0 run that cut the deficit to 34-32 with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
Momentum shifted quickly. Kailyn Chapman picked up her fourth foul on the next possession — a three-point play by Lauryn Walker — triggering a 10-0 Pirate run that effectively put the game away.
Freshman guard Kyla Shuman led all scorers with 18 points, while Hayden Johanson, the team’s lone senior, added nine.
“We fought — we put up a heck of a fight,” Parker said. “We wanted to be competitive and play hard, and they did that.”
South finished the season 14-13, doubling its win total from the previous year.
Different stages of rebuilding
South found itself on the other side of a rebuilding matchup Saturday in the opening round of the region tournament against Effingham County.
The Mustangs built a 17-point halftime lead and opened the third quarter with 17 straight points, cruising to a 59-29 victory.
“I felt like we had some good looks, but we just weren’t hitting,” said Rebels first-year coach Kevin Furtado. “Our skill level just isn’t there yet.”
Effingham County finished 6-18, matching its highest win total since the 2021-22 season. The Rebels’ three region wins were their most in a decade.
Still, Furtado acknowledged the work ahead.
“Growth is a process,” he said. “Most of these girls are first-year players. We won the games we were supposed to win. … We have to start from scratch again.”
Parker understands that path well. Her first South Effingham team won 10 games, followed by a 20-win season and a home state playoff game. Then came another rebuild, including nine- and seven-win seasons and six losses by 30 or more points last year.
“Effingham is a team that’s rebuilding,” Parker said. “I think Coach Furtado has done a great job and pulled everything he could out of them. They compete. I told my girls, ‘Forget their record. They’re going to compete.’ That’s what made this game dangerous.”
