Lady Bishops fall shy in Lower State Championship

The Bishop England High School girls’ basketball team held the top sophomore in the country to nearly half of her usual point production. And, the Bishops played inspired basketball, using a never-quit attitude and a stingy defense after falling behind by double digits early in the game.

 

But it still wasn’t enough as Camden gained a 47-33 victory over the Battling Bishops on Monday night at the Florence Civic Center to win the Class AAA Lower State Championship.

 

The Bulldogs, who improved to 21-6, reached the state championship game for the first time since 1982. They will play defending state champ Keenan at 6 p.m. on Friday at the USC Aiken Convocation Center.

 

Bishop England, seeking its first state title since 2019, finished with a 19-7 record after losing to Keenan in last year’s Class AAA title game.

 

The game featured Camden’s Joyce Edwards, a 6-3 forward who is the top sophomore in the country, according to ESPN Hoop Gurlsz’ rankings for the class of 2024.

 

Edwards, who recently reached the 2,000-point mark for her illustrious career, entered the game leading the Bulldogs in five of six major statistical categories, including 23.4 points per game.

 

But the Bishops defended her well, holding the co-Class AAA state player of the year to 14 points. However, Deanna Jeffcoat and Morgan Champion both picked up the scoring slack with 13 points apiece.

 

All-state selections Ella Schar and Ally Dominiak led the Bishops with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

 

Both Camden and Bishop England entered the game on impressive rolls of success. Bishop England won 12 consecutive games heading into the showdown. Camden’s victory Monday night pushed its winning streak to 17 in a row.

 

The Bulldogs used 3-point shooting to win. Their first three baskets of the game were 3-pointers, and they finished with seven from behind the arc for the contest.

 

The three 3-point shots helped Camden take a 15-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 22-12 at halftime, and put the game out of reach midway through the third quarter with a 35-18 advantage.

 

The Bishops were arguably the team of the 2010s, winning six state titles in the decade, including 2012, 2014-17 and 2019. The Bishops’ playoff record from 2012 to Monday night now is 44-5. Beginning with the 2011-12 season, Bishop England owns a 247-37 record for a winning rate of 87%. 

 

The Bishops advanced to the Lower State Championship with a 47-35 victory over Loris on Feb. 24.

 

The Bishops took a 13-8 lead at the end of the first period, increasing their advantage to 29-17 at halftime en route to the road win. Dominiak and Schar led the Bishops with 14 points apiece.