Lady Bishops tip off season as tournament champs

Bishop England High School girls’ basketball coach Paul Runey always looks for ways - and games - to get his teams ready for deep playoff runs.
 
That’s why the Bishops were more than willing participants in the Charleston Math and Science’s Riptide Tournament, which was contested over the weekend, tipping off the 2022-23 season.
 
“No doubt it’s good to get a couple of games under your belt,” said the veteran coach. “There’s always practice, but that only gets you so far. It’s always good to play someone wearing different uniforms.”
 
The Bishops seemed to be in postseason form, winning the tournament with victory over a pair of bigger schools. On Saturday, the Bishops posted a 31-25 victory over James Island and followed that up with a 31-26 victory over Lucy Beckham in the championship game.
 
“The girls played really hard, but we have a lot of work to do,” Runey said. “We have five players returning from last year, but only one starter. The five players combined to average something like only 17 points (a game). You know our forte: play pressure defense and turn turnovers into fastbreaks that result in layups and foul shots.”
 
That’s the formula that BE has used to become one of the state’s biggest basketball forces, winning six state titles in the 2010s. The Bishops claimed their first state title in 2012 and then won four in a row from 2014-17. The Bishops’ other title came in ’19.
 
The defensive pressure was the difference against the Bengals from Mount Pleasant. Lucy Beckham led 21-12 at halftime, but the Bishops pitched a shutout in the third period to cut the deficit to 21-18. The Bishops’ offense responded in the final eight minutes, outscoring the Bengals 13-5 to start the season with a 2-0 record. Izzy Woods led the win with nine points. She had 14 points the day before in the victory over James Island.
 
“This team is revamped,” Runey said. “The girls have to play hard. This just might be the smallest team I’ve ever had. But they are pretty quick and I think they will come around offensively. The key is to be more consistent, and if we can do that and stay out of foul trouble, we will be OK.” 
 
Boys Basketball
 
The Bishop England and Philip Simmons High School boys’ teams also competed in the Riptide Classic. The Bishops beat the Iron Horses 50-42 Sunday to claim third place.
 
The Iron Horses took a 15-11 lead at the end of the first stop but the Bishops rallied to tie it 21-21 at halftime. The Bishops exploded for 22 points in the decisive third quarter to take a 43-25 lead into the final stanza.
 
Jack Raup led the Bishops with 12 points and Charlie Ranney chipped in with 10. Jac’Que Green of PSHS led all scorers with 15.
 
The Iron Horses topped Porter-Gaud in the opening game but fell to Goose Creek and BE to start the season 1-2.
 
Bishop England played two games in the tourney, losing to Goose Creek in the opening round.
 

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