South-Carolina
North Augusta and Military Magnet Repeat as South Carolina Girls Basketball Championships Continue Title Trend
Out of the five classifications at the South Carolina High School League girls basketball state championships, only Class 2A was guaranteed to crown a new state champion which was Landrum.
Through two days of the “Weekend of Champions,” order was served as Berkeley, Walhalla and Blythewood all retained their respective titles.
On Saturday, Military Magnet and North Augusta made it 5-5 for repeat championships.
Lady Yellow Jackets Move a Step Closer to State History
North Augusta head coach Al Young is a former wide receiver who’s a member of the South Carolina State Athletics Hall of Fame.
After 37 years of coaching boys basketball and track at North Augusta, he came out of retirement to work with girls’ basketball.
It’s been more than a smooth transition for Young. On Saturday, the Lady Yellow Jackets defeated Westside 63-50 in the Class 4A final.
“I thought football was my first love,” Young said. “I’m not sure now.”
Another Tough Rematch with Westside
It was the seventh state title in 10 years for the Lady Yellow Jackets, fifth with Young at the helm. They also tied Blackville-Hilda, the 63-50 win over Westside.
The win tied North Augusta for second-most in state history behind Lower Richland, Hollywood, Marion and Blackville-Hilda. Only Bowman and the legendary Monetta teams of the 1930s have more with eight titles.
For the second straight year, the Lady Yellow Jackets had to defeat the Lady Rams. Messiah Williams scored four straight points to help them take a 6-0 advantage.
Down 16-7, Westside responded with a 10-3 run sparked by six straight points from forward Makyhia Paul. The Lady Rams’ defense also forced North Augusta into turnovers to help stay close through the second quarter.
Westside briefly tied the game at 24-24. With two seconds left, Taylor Boney scored her only points of the game on a layup to put North Augusta up 26-24 at halftime.
Second Half Adjustments Help North Augusta
Guard Celana Grant, who scored a team-high 15 points along with Azaria Sapp, said they was implored to cut down on the turnovers.
“We turned the ball over a lot in the first half and we also turned it over in the second half,” she said. “But we made better decisions. We were looking for each other and we made great plays.”
After a 3-pointer by Monasia Clinkscales brought Westside within a point, North Augusta answered with eight straight points and increased its lead to 10 for the first time.
The Lady Rams got no closer than five the rest of the way. A jumper by Ashley Walker put the Lady Yellow Jackets up 44-34 going into the fourth quarter.
North Augusta extended its lead as many as 16 points before the final buzzer.
Lady Eagles post weekend’s most dominant performance
The ‘machine’ known as Military Magnet continues to roll along in Class A.
The Lady Eagles led from start to finish in 70-21 rout of Great Falls. They were already ahead 16-2 before the Lady Red Devils made their second and last field goal of the first quarter.
Eighth-grader Mariah Brown provided problems on both sides of the basketball. She outscored the entire Great Falls’ roster with 25 points, seven rebounds and was one of five players with three or more steals.
Guard Xahar Pinckney had a team-high five of their 17 steals while also forcing 31 turnovers.
In leading as many as 51 points, Military Magnet kept Greats Falls in double digits in all four quarters. In fact, the 28 points scored in the second quarter to go up 50-13 at halftime was more than Great Falls’ entire scoring output.
This was the fifth state title in six state title appearances in seven years by Military Magnet. Great Falls was making its first championship appearance since 1979.
Columbia, Mo. — The South Carolina softball team (25-21, 4-13) dropped the second game of its series at Missouri (24-23, 7-10) 5-0 Saturday night (Apr. 18).
Kai Byars led the Gamecocks with a pair of doubles on the night. It was her second multi-hit game of the season and her first game with multiple extra base hits.
The Tigers scored a run in the third inning without the aid of a hit. They would extend the lead and add four more in the fourth.
Carolina’s best opportunity for a run came in third. Byars doubled to lead off the inning and Shae Anderson followed with a bunt single. A double play on a potential sacrifice fly ended the rally.
Emma Friedel (8-4) took the loss, allowing one run on no hits in 3 1-3 innings. She struck out six and walked three.
The rubber game of the series will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET.
Audi Crooks on being in the transfer portal
USAT’s Sam Cardona-Norberg catches up with college basketball star Audi Crooks, who is still looking for her next team.
Sports Seriously
Jordan Lee entered the transfer portal after a breakout season at Texas and the junior guard isn’t going too far. She’s staying in the Southeastern Conference.
Lee announced on Instagram Friday that she’s transferring to South Carolina to play for Dawn Staley after spending the first two years of her collegiate career at Texas under Vic Schaefer. Lee captioned her Instagram post, which featured a video montage of her visit to Columbia, South Carolina, “Feeling cocky.”
Lee was one of four players from Texas to enter the transfer portal after the Longhorns’ second consecutive trip to the Final Four ended in a devastating loss to UCLA. She was named to the All-Region team in the Fort Worth 3 bracket in this year’s NCAA Tournament following her Sweet 16 and Elite Eight performance, where she recorded 22 points, six assists, three rebounds and four steals while also providing strong defense.
After being limited to five starts her freshman year, Lee slid into the starting lineup last season and started a career-high 38 games. She also averaged career highs in points (13.2), assists (2.5), rebounds (2.5), steals (1.5), field-goal percentage (42%) and free-throw percentage (75%), while shooting 34% from 3-point range.
Texas’ Aaliyah Crump, Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Moore also entered the transfer portal. On Friday, Crump announced she’s transferring to Duke, citing her connection with head coach Kara Lawson.
“For me, choosing Duke University goes far beyond one sentence. The moment I connected with Kara Lawson and her coaching staff, I knew I was exactly where I belonged,” said Crump, who averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game her freshman season at Texas.
Crump continued: “Their dedication and vision for the program is truly special, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. The connection Coach Lawson and I have built is one of a kind, and I fully trust in her plan for the success of this program. I can’t wait to be coached by genuine people who support my growth not only as a basketball player, but as a person as well.”
Three-time All-American Madison Booker and junior starting forward Breya Cunningham are expected to return to Texas.
Contributing: Mitchell Northam
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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Each offseason, the NFL shakes up the landscape with free agency, as some of the top names at each position move around the league to new teams. The New Orleans Saints have fallen victim to this in 2026 so far, with Demario Davis and Alontae Taylor both moving on, and Cameron Jordan not having re-signed as of yet. Cornerback was a position that could already use a talent influx alongside Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley; now, it is even more of an issue.
Adding a new defensive back to fill the STAR role for the defense is certainly going to be a focus this spring, and that has been clear from the Saints’ pre-draft meetings. Recently, they added another name to the growing list; this time, it was South Carolina prospect Jalon Kilgore.
There is a lot to like about Kilgore, especially in that nickel or STAR role long term. He is enormously athletic and absolutely rapid both in straight-line testing and on the field. He got a decent chunk of his collegiate snaps at slot corner, 1,382 to be exact, but also had 541 in the box, 238 at free safety, 53 along the defensive line, and 24 as an outside corner.
His coverage metrics in 2025 were very solid, as on 65 targets, he allowed 34 receptions (52.3%) for 390 yards and 2 touchdowns. He picked up 2 interceptions, 10 pass deflections, 54 total tackles, and 2 fumble recoveries in 694 total snaps this season. Throughout the combine, he ended up performing well in pretty much every drill, which bodes well for his ability to translate to the NFL. If the Saints are looking to add someone with slot experience already, Kilgore may be one of the best options available.
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