by Morgan McLellan

The Landrum High School varsity girls’ basketball team went on the road for their first AA playoff game this season on Thursday, Feb. 20.

The Lady Cardinals defeated Ninety-Six High School 48-31.  This win advanced the girls to their third Region I AA match up against Pendleton High School.

The Lady Cardinals traveled to Pendleton High School Saturday, Feb. 22.

The Lady Cardinals led 21-16 at the half, and the teams held a tie at 26 through the third quarter. The Lady Bulldogs brought the score to 35-32 to defeat the Lady Cardinals.

Despite the loss, head coach Deon Brice said he was more than happy with his team’s performance.

“The game got physical toward the end. We had a couple of key turnovers, but they never gave up,” Brice said.

The leading scorers for Saturday’s game were senior Sydnie Brown with 10 points, senior Taylor Jenkins with 8 and junior Alison Jouan scoring 7 points.

Team captains Brown and Jenkins made a lasting impact on the team.  Jenkins will end her career holding the school record for most blocks and rebounds per game. Brown leaves Landrum third in three pointer’s made in the season.

While Brice did not have any one stand-out player this year, he did have “a team that is well rounded and works well with each other to be successful.” Other teams have no choice but to “prepare for all of us,” Brice said.

The Lady Cardinals ended the 2013-2014 season 16-8 overall and 8-4 in Region I AA. They also came in second in the Battle of the Border Tournament in December 2013.

“Words can’t express how proud I was of how they played. They came out focused and knew the effort it would take and gave everything they had. I couldn’t have asked anything more,” Brice said.