SFCS Middle School Lady Crusaders End Season With CMSC Tournament

          February 18, 2010 - The Shannon Forest Christian School (SFCS) Middle School Girls' Basketball team has come a long way since this time last year. The Lady Crusaders earned the 5th seed in the CMSC tournament and a trip to Spartanburg Day School (SDS) for an entertaining first round match-up. The first round game was a rematch of the final game of the regular season, during which the Crusaders squeaked out 10-9 victory. The rematch proved to be another close game. The Lady Crusaders used four, fourth quarter points to seal the come-from-behind-victory! With 17 seconds on the clock and two points down, SFCS was able to get an in-bounds pass to Morgan Goldman. Goldman sunk a two point jump shot with about 13 seconds to go in the game. The Lady Crusaders hung on for the final 13 seconds to grab the 1st round victory! "This was an exciting game and I am very excited for our team," said Coach Michael Hitch. "We have come a long way and to win this first round game on the road in this fashion makes everything worth it!"
SFCS was led by Cristina Waingart who finished the night with four points. Olivia Cummins added three points, while Katelyn Overby and Goldman added two a piece! With the victory, the Crusaders earned the right to play in a semi-final match-up against the top seeded St. Joseph Knights.
         St. Joseph's proved to be too fast and experienced for the Lady Crusaders. SFCS played hard and stuck with the Knights for three quarters before falling 20-10. "I am very proud of the way we handled ourselves tonight," said Hitch. "Getting to the semi-final games says a lot about this team! They never quit and worked extremely hard all year long to prove everyone wrong." Waingart paced the Crusaders with six points.
The team's loss pitted the Crusaders with Mitchell Road Christian Academy (MRCA) in the Consolation game. This proved to be another tight game and was the end of the Lady Crusader' season. SFCS played extremely hard, but eventually lost to a better MRCA team. "We hung in there and cut the lead to four with two minutes to go in the game," said Hitch. The Crusaders had to foul in the late seconds of the game, but MRCA used some clutch free throws to extend their lead and eventually win 15-7.
        "This has been an incredible year," concluded Hitch. "I could not have asked for a better group of girls to be around. They have made great strides throughout the entire year and it just sets the stage for next year! A special thanks goes out to the four, 8th Grade players on the team. We could not have been this successful without each of them. All four will be missed!" Sarah Sampson, Madeline Chandler, Jasmine Parish and Olivia Cummins, who worked extremely hard this year to be leaders, will be moving on All these players served in key roles in helping this year's squad win seven games, six more than last year. Also to be recognized is the Lady Crusader's only all conference selection, 6th Grade player Cristina Waingart who was nominated to the all-conference team for the second year in a row.
Congratulations Crusaders on a very impressive season!