Forget about college basketball’s ‘Final Four’.
One of our very own local teams is in the high school ‘Final Four’.
Wren’s Lady Hurricanes advanced to this Saturday evening’s Upper-State 3-A Finals with Monday night’s 56-40 third-round rout of defending champion Dreher.
The Lady Hurricanes will square-off against Lower Richland in the 5:00 State 3-A Semi-Finals game at the Bi-Lo Center in Downtown Greenville.
In the days leading up to Monday’s match-up, Coach Lynn Hicks and the rest of the Lady Hurricanes had challenged promising freshman Nakol Franks to “show up and show up strong”.
And did she ever !!
Dreher slipped out to an 8-5 lead in the early moments of the game, and that just might have been enough to light a spark under Franks.
And that early flicker quickly turned into a scoring explosion, as the freshman sensation scorched the Columbia team for 16 first-half points, including hitting four baskets from well beyond the three-point arc.
Her sizzling shooting helped Wren burn a 33-19 halftime hole in the reigning state champions, and the Lady Blue Devils never recovered.
The Lady Hurricanes finished off their guests with a 15-8 third-quarter run, as they celebrated their 15th-straight overall victory and remained unbeaten on their home court at 11-0.
Nakol Franks ended the night with five three-point baskets and 26 total points, while Addie Merritt hit three long-distance shots as part of a 13-point evening.
Wren and Lower Richland (which boasts a young line-up that includes two 6’0 players and two more at 5’10) both go into Saturday’s game with an overall record of 24-3.
