For just the second time in the 17-year history of the Crescom Bank Holiday Invitational, Myrtle Beach (SC) has advanced to the semifinal round of the event in their hometown. The Seahawks (11-0) defeated Archer (GA) 51-45 in a come-from-behind thriller inside the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
Archer (9-1; Lawrenceville, GA) trailed 5-1 early in the first half but responded with a 25-6 stretch that gave the Tigers a 26-11 advantage with 1:36 remaining in the opening half. After trading baskets, Myrtle beach’s Keocia Walker connected on a pair of free throws at the end of the half to pull the Seahawks to within 13 at 28-15 at the break.
The teams again traded baskets to open the second half before Myrtle Beach turned up the defensive pressure, leading to some transition baskets. Trailing 32-17, Myrtle Beach closed the gap to just three points at 32-29 with 12 unanswered points that was capped by Kiana Adderton’s two free throws with 9:08 to play. Archer would stretch the lead back to five points several times over the next few minutes, with the last being at 36-31 with 6:36 on the clock.
Myrtle Beach scored the next seven points as the Seahawks forced a pair of Archer turnovers and Walker capped the run with an old-fashioned three-point play to take a 38-36 lead with 5:17 to play. The teams traded the lead five time in the closing three minutes before Myrtle Beach grabbed the lead for good on Adderton’s jumper in the lane that gave the Seahawks a 44-43 advantage with 1:37 to play. Ivy Collins and Jalah Horton connected on a pair of free throws each in the closing eight seconds to seal the victory for Myrtle Beach.
Myrtle Beach outscored Archer 36-17 in the second half, scoring 27 points off of 20 turnovers by the Tigers. Nia Sumpter led Myrtle Beach with 17 points and seven rebounds while Adderton had 11 points and seven boards and Walker chipped in 14 points and four steals.
Autumn Newby paced Archer with 12 points while Linsey Marchese grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
