Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com

Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com

<p>Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com</p>

Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com

<p>Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com</p>

Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com

<p>Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com</p>

Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com

<p>Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com</p>

Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com

PROSPERITY, S.C. — Mid-Carolina picked up their first region win on Tuesday night after a tough three game stretch. The lady Rebels(5-12, 1-3 region 3-AA) defeated Columbia(0-13, 0-4 region 3-AA) 72-36 at home on Tuesday, Jan. 28th.

Mid-Carolina returned back to their home court in search of their first region win. The lady Rebels started region play against Chester on Jan.14 and played the three of the top four teams in their region and in all of 2A over a three game stretch. They unfortunately loss all of those games in tight battles, but were determined to not make it four in-a-row.

The lady Rebels dominated this game from start to finish. They got off to a hot start in the first quarter and didn’t let their feet off the gas. Brea Boyd had 11 of her game-high 25 points and 11 of the 17 total points scored by Mid-Carolina in the first quarter. They led 17-8 after the opening period.

Mid-Carolina offense cooled down some in the second quarter, but Addie Bowers led the way for the Rebels. The senior forward scored six points in the second quarter after a strong first quarter. The lady Rebels also picked up their defensive pressure in the second quarter to force turnovers that led to easy fast break points. They only allowed six total points in the second period and went into halftime with a 27-14 lead.

Bowers came out of halftime and played like she was possessed. The senior added another six points to her scoring total, had two huge blocks and grabbed every rebound that came her way. She was the determining factor that put the game out of reach for Columbia in the third quarter. Boyd also continued her good play on both ends of the floor. She had a team-high in steals.

Mid-Carolina led 46-29 going into the fourth quarter and cruised to their fifth win of the season. Callie Wilbanks made the most of her minutes as well by knocking down a huge three-pointer in the fourth quarter and finishing the game with 12 points. Bowers finished the game with 18 points to add to her impressive play over a five game stretch that started on January 8th.

“They played extremely well in the second half. In the first half, we did get a lot off of our points off pressure and steals. Brea and Addie up front dictates a lot of that. We were real sluggish in the half court on offense in the first half. We just weren’t seeing what we needed to see,” said Rebels’ head coach Gary Wilbanks. “I told them at halftime, ‘If you got out and do what you are capable of and execute, then you can score 40 points in the second half.’ I think we scored 47 in the second half. When we have everyone contributing and scoring like that then it’s huge for us.”

The combination of Bowers, Boyd and Wilbanks outscored Columbia’s entire team, 55-36. If you take away Wilbanks’ 12 points, then the combination of Boyd and Bowers scoring still beats the Capitals, 43-36.

“It’s huge to get the first region win. Our three previous games, which were the first three region games, was against the number eight team in 2A, the number ten team in 2A and the number two team in 2A. Two of those games we were one possession away from winning. We had the lead on Clinton at halftime, but it kind of slipped away in the second half and they won by ten,” said Wilbanks.

He continued, “It was very frustrating because we just couldn’t get over that hump. So tonight, hopefully we can build off of this because we have to turn around and go right back to Columbia tomorrow. We can’t rest and we can’t go thinking what we did tonight is going to get us a win on tomorrow. We have to go and bring it tomorrow so we can hopefully get our second region win.”

Mid-Carolina will have a quick turn around as they travel to Columbia on January 29th for the second of a back-to-back against the Capitals. Then, they will wrap up their week of games at Chester on Friday, Jan. 31st.

Reach Greg Hollis @ 803-768-3117 or on X @TheNBOnews