Spring Valley’s Jasmine Ruff battles Sumter’s Shanice Cooper for a loose ball. Passing the ball to a place on the court where someone is supposed to be – as opposed to where someone is – requires a certain leap of faith.

Of course, coaches will also say it requires discipline, practice, on–court awareness and familiarity among teammates. So, it should be little surprise that Spring Valley, which started three sophomores and two juniors against Sumter on a Monday night in December, remains a work in progress in this area.

“We’re being too deliberate, waiting too long to make passes and not taking advantage of what the defense is giving us,” Spring Valley coach Anne Long said after a 59–38 victory against the Gamecocks.

With the victory, the Vikings improved to 7–1 in their bid to repeat as Class 4A state champions.

Spring Valley’s Shaqui- ta Walker starts a fast break against Sumter. Spring Valley’s fullcourt trap was enough to beat Sumter. Twelve first– quarter turnovers contributed to the Gamecocks (3–3) going scoreless for the more than five minutes in the period and falling behind by 19 in the opening seconds of the second quarter. The margin stayed there. The Vikings largest lead, 26, came midway through the third quarter.

The lead allowed Long to experiment with her big lineup using a four–person combination from among Jocelyn Lawrence (6-3), Xylina McDaniel (6-1), Sarah Long (5-11), Kelcee Dozier (6-1), and Juliette Love (6- 2) at the same time.

“We’re trying to let everyone face the basket this year,” Long said. “It gives us better looks, and it gives us a taller look as a team.”

The three starting sophomores had plenty of looks against Sumter. McDaniel (19), Asia Dozier (14), and Shaquita Walker (14) led the Vikings in scoring.
Spring Valley’s Savonia Bryan blocks Sumter’s Brittany Starling.