Three-peat! Hilton Head Christian girls dominate, win another SCISA title
The seconds couldn’t count down fast enough for Dior Shelton and her Hilton Head Christian Academy teammates Saturday.
But once the clock hit zero, the HHCA team ran to center court to celebrate the Eagles’ third straight SCISA Class 2A championship. Hilton Head Christian defeated Palmetto Christian Academy 48-32 at the Sumter Civic Center.
“It’s actually really amazing,” Shelton said. “We have been working really hard to get to here and I’m glad we made it. I’m so proud I was able to do it with this group.”
The championship is the second for the school this year. The HHCA football team won a state title in November.
“These girls are very unselfish and worked very hard to get to this point and everything that they have accomplished over the past three years,” Hilton Head coach Ken Conroy said. “I am very proud of them.”
Shelton, one of three seniors, has been a part of all three Eagles championship teams. HHCA is 75-6 during its championship run and hasn’t lost a region game in five seasons. The Eagles’ lone loss this season came against Class 3A Cardinal Newman, which was going for its own third straight championship Saturday.
Shelton was aggressive from the start, scoring 13 of her game-high 17 points in the first half.
“I had to start off aggressive because I know I have been before and had to get my team going,” Shelton said.
Shelton was named to the all-tournament team, along with freshman Abby Pedduzi, who added 11 points and was a spark on defense for the Eagles. Peduzzi helped shut down Palmetto Christian’s Katelyn Howard, who was in foul trouble in the first half and finished with five points.
Hilton Head Christian held PCA to just seven points in the second half until the final few seconds of the game. The Eagles came in allowing just 28.6 points a game.
Conroy said the team backed off from its full-court pressure and went to more of an aggressive half-court defense in the second half.
“They are an offensive juggernaut, so we made some adjustments at halftime,” Conroy said. “We know our defense is what makes us win, and we know our offense gets us to our defense.”
Yannah Seaberry led Palmetto Christian with 18 points and was named to the all-tournament team along with Howard. The rest of the all-tournament team was made up of Beaufort Academy’s Mikeala Washington and Orangeburg Prep’s Campbell Delaney.
PCA: Yannah Seaberry 18, Suddeth 9, Howard 5.
HHCA: Yarde 5, Smith 8, Dior Shelton 17, Smith 4, Abby Peduzzi 11, Yanker 3.
This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 2:23 PM.
