BE girls' basketball team collects another state crown!

Keenan High School’s dynamic duo couldn’t hush the talk of a Bishop England dynasty on Saturday, as the Bishops topped the Raiders 56-48 in the Class AAA state championship game, which was contested at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia.

The victory gave the Bishops their sixth state championship in the last eight years as the Bishops put an exclamation point on another incredible season, finishing with a 28-1 record.

“I don’t really go back and look at the record book, but to play in the state championship seven times in eight years, and win six is one of those things where everything just clicked,” Bishop England coach Paul Runey said. “The big thing is most of the girls don’t play basketball in college. They buy into the program and do the work in the classroom. They play, have fun and take the next step.”

The Bishops held eighth-grade wunderkind Milaysia Fulwiley and her teammate Dyani Burke under control most of the game to end Keenan’s 15-game winning streak.

The Bishops, meanwhile, received an outstanding effort from senior Katie Brooks, who went out in style in the final game of her career. Brooks, who was named one of the top five seniors in the preseason by the state coaches’ association, lived up to her reputation. She scored 20 points, hitting 12 of 13 from the foul line in addition to collecting six rebounds and four steals.

“She’s just a heck of an athlete,” Runey said of Brooks. “I’ve been telling her since her freshman year the sky is the limit. I just told her to focus. When the game is on the line I tell her the other team can’t stop her and take the ball to the basket.’”

It was the third time the two schools met in the state championship. Keenan posted a 46-41 victory over the Bishops in 2013 and the Bishops posted a 53-37 victory in the 2016 state championship.

Keenan’s Fulwiley scored 30 points in the Upper State championship against Emerald, but managed only 18 against the Bishops. Burke tallied 17 points, but the duo hit only 33 percent from the field as the Bishops’ defense came up big against big-time players.

Josie Dennis collected 10 points and six rebounds to aid the Bishops while Lily Woods tallied 10 points.

The Bishops took a 22-20 lead at halftime, but the Raiders outscored the Bishops at the beginning of the third quarter to take a lead. But the Bishops went on a 17-0 run that put the game out of reach.

Runey bid farewell to four senior starters, including Kelly Drummond, who just might be the team’s unsung hero.

“She doesn’t show up in the stats, but she gets the job done,” Runey praised. “She’s a team player and if you watch the film, you can see how valuable she is.”

What will the Bishops do for an encore during the 2019-20 season?

“I’ve got to think about that,” Runey said. “We have some holes to plug. We lose four starters. We won’t be as tall, but we will be fast.”