Greenville Christian School girls basketball coach Brother Sandifer has watched Tariyah Washington, the Planters Bank Player of the Week, grow right before his eyes.
Washington, a sophomore, has been lighting up the scoreboard in recent weeks. In four games last week, Washington scored 26, 27, 31 and 25 points for a 27.25 points-per-game average. These big scoring nights helped lead the Lady Saints to their first-ever MAIS Class 2A South State Championship. Her 25-point performance in the championship game helped lead GCS to a 61-50 victory over Manchester Academy. Washington also had had 45 rebounds, 18 assists and 8 steals over this four game period.
But, Washington’s success has been more than statistics.
Coach Sandifer said the sophomore’s decision making and leadership skills have also vastly improved this season.
“She has really been stepping up her game in a big way,” the GCS coach said. “It has been a tremendous thing to see how she has become such a complete player.”
With Washington’s improvement, the Lady Saints (22-7) have their eyes set on even more titles. The Lady Saints were scheduled to begin their quest for a Class 2A state championship on Tuesday night against Hebron Christian in the opening round of the state tournament at Sylva-Bay Academy.
Washington and senior Williette Kingdom now have, perhaps, the best one-two punch of any two teammates at this week’s tournament. For many games this season, both Kingdom and Washington each scored more than 15 points.
Giving the Lady Saints even more confidence this week are the many talented supporting players on this year’s team. Players like Jordyn Claiborne and Taylor Ellis, for example, were both named to the South State all tournament team.
“This is a special group of girls,” coach Sandifer said. “They all get along very well. They all play together. They all pull for each other, and they all love the Lord.”
