By CINDY CROSBY
The Salkehatchie Lady Indians were eliminated from the post-season NJCAA Division II Region X tournament after falling to No. 2 seed Cape Fear with a 73-58 score on March 3.
Earlier in the week, the Lady Indians defeated No. 6 seed Bryant & Stratton 71-64.
In the win over Bryant & Stratton on Tuesday, March 1 at Denmark Technical College, the Lady Indians shot 38-percent on the floor, went 10-19 in free throws, and recorded 10 turnovers. Salkehatchie was led by Koila Adams who scored 20 points and captured 6 rebounds. Jasmine Norman and Shatyra Moore each added 13 points.
Other scoring included Antwanique Walley 10, Omari Kirkland 9, and Amari Hunter 6.
Against Cape Fear, Salkehatchie shot 29.2-percent overall, went 11-15 in free throws, and had 13 turnovers in the loss. They were led by Norman who scored 23 points and had 3 rebounds. Hunter added 11 points and 3 rebounds. Other scoring included Kirkland 6, Adams 6, Brown 4, Walley 4, Moore 2, and Janise Shaw 2.
The Lady Indians will begin the search for a new head coach for next season following the resignation of head coach Olivia Gaines who recently announced she had accepted a position as the first-ever women’s head coach in the newly established program at Richard Bland College in Virginia.
Gaines took over the women’s program at Salkehatchie in the 2020-21 season. She was at the helm of a dream season for the Lady Indians where they finished 20-2 overall after going 16-0 in the regular season and 12-0 in NJCAA Region X. In her first season as a head coach, Gaines claimed the Region X Championship and lead the Lady Indians to the NJCAA D-II National Championships in North Carolina where they finished in sixth place in the sixteen-team field after going 2-2 and being eliminated following an 84-78 loss to Kirkwood College. Gaines received numerous post-season accolades for her accomplishments as a first-year head coach.
The Lady Indians finished the 2021-22 season 19-10 overall and 13-6 in Region X. Two players were recognized in post-season accolades including Amari Hunter – First Team All-Region X and Jasmine Norman – Second Team All-Region X.
