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LANDRUM—The Landrum varsity basketball teams kicked off their seasons by participating in a pair of pre-season basketball tournaments in the area. 

The Cardinals, who are coming off their third consecutive Region title, opened their season playing in the Rippy’s Tip-Off Classic hosted by Union High School. The Cards will be looking for a fourth thanks to a bevy of returning players off last year’s team, including standout scorer senior Franklin Davis. 

The Cards opened the tournament on Nov. 17 with a tough matchup at Greer (3-0), where they lost a close game 69-63 despite 27 points from Davis. The loss would put them against Newberry (0-2) in a neutral site matchup Monday at Union HS, where the Cards defeated Newberry in a low-scoring affair 45-40. Their final match-up on Tuesday would put them against Broome (1-1), who would end up beating them 63-61 in a tightly fought game in which Davis scored 28. 

The Cardinals will open their regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 28th, at 7:30 p.m. on the road versus rival Blue Ridge, who they swept in both meetings last season. 

The Landrum Lady Cardinals are coming off an 18-7 record and a second-place finish in the Region. With a trio of standout seniors, Kaylee Cortez, Savannah Brown and Sydney Price, they will look to be at the top of their Region again this year. They opened their pre-season in the Coach Varner Classic Tournament, named for legendary Woodruff football and girls basketball coach Willie Varner. 

The Lady Cards opened the tournament on Nov. 18th on the road with an impressive 58-36 win versus 5A Boiling Springs (1-2), led by Cortez’s 23 points. Monday night, they would win their neutral site match-up in the second round versus 4A Laurens (1-2) in even more impressive fashion 66-29, this time led by Price and Brown with 21 and 22 points apiece. In Tuesday night’s championship game, they would pull out a tough victory versus Chapin (2-1) 54-51, winning the tournament thanks to 20 points from sophmore Kylie Fortner.

The Lady Cardinals open their season on Tuesday, Nov. 28th, at 6 p.m. at Blue Ridge, who swept them in their two games last season.