68 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com WANDO LADY WARRIORS Anytime a high school basketball team graduates 10 seniors, including two college signees, the usual outlook for next season is either rebuilding from scratch or at least a noticeable come-down. But for Wando girls basketball head coach Jeff Emory, the upcoming season should be at least as good as last year when the team went 21-5 overall and 8-2 in Region 7 AAAAA. “We are in position to continue to offer a strong showing this season,” Emory said. “We try to build a program, not a team. We kept 18 players on varsity a year ago with the knowledge that we were going to lose a lot of talent from last year’s group. We have eight returning veterans that have been in our program for a good amount of time.” Players will also be moving up from last year’s 14-2 JV team. And Emory will likely need every one of them as the Lady Warriors, from the opening tip, enter a “gauntlet and there will be no nights off” against teams such as Lucy Beckham, Bishop England, Goose Creek, Stratford, Cane Bay and defending AAAAA Division II state champion Berkeley. “Our pre-region schedule is full of AAAAA competition,” he said. “There should be a lot of close games across the span of the season.” Returning starters include two-time All-Region senior Malaya Mazyck and sophomore Makenna Reynolds, a scorer who started every game last season. Talented freshman guard Bella McKevitt, who started with the team in eighth grade, is already an experienced veteran. And 6-foot-3 defender Ava Rush is returning to Wando for her senior season. All of which could add up to a glorious ending – if Emory can get them past the gauntlet. “Basketball is a long season, the grind of all grinds,” he said. “And we are excited and ready for the challenge.” LUCY BECKHAM LADY BENGALS Leading up to the 2025-26 basketball season for the Lucy Beckham Lady Bengals, first-season head coach Dustin Williams is already preparing his team for a trial by fire – with a crystal-clear message: winning won’t happen overnight. “I think our region will be a heavyweight fight every night, which should make for some great girls basketball,” Williams said. “Our team will be competing in Region 7 AAAAA, where we will face several top-tier teams that demand our full attention and best performance each game.” Teams include Wando, Goose Creek, Cane Bay, Stratford and defending state champion Berkeley High. Rather than scheduling a few games in December with less-talented teams to get ready for region play, the Lady Bengals open with four-time state champion Military Magnet – a game Williams said will likely show what his team is made of right away. “Other non-region teams like Summerville, Ashley Ridge, Oceanside and Bishop England each made deep runs in their respective classes,” he said. “I hope these games will prepare us for region play.” Plus, he returns only three starters from last season, in which the team went 10-13 and fell in the second round of the 5A state playoffs. Despite the heavy-loaded tough schedule and few guns to fight it, Williams is looking at the upcoming trial not with dread, but as a necessary first step to eventually succeed. Hardwood Heroines Girls basketball season preview BY L. C. LEACH III Wando head coach Jeff Emory exhorting his team to win.
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