FLORENCE, S.C. — Terriana Gray scored 13 points including a pair of free throws with a little more than 10 seconds left to help A.C. Flora defeat Ridge View 47-42 in the Class AAAA Lower State Championship at the Florence Center.
Gray's free throws pushed the Falcon lead to 46-42 which all but sealed A.C. Flora's first trip to the state finals for the girls basketball program.
Former News19 Player of the Week Jazmyne McDonald-Craft scored nine points for A.C. Flora which had lost its two regular season meetings with Ridge View.
Ridge View, making its first appearance in the state semifinals. was led in scoring by Destiny Drakeford who had 12 points.
A.C. Flora will play Riverside Saturday at 6:00 p.m. for the Class 4A state championship.
In the boys game, Ridge View left no doubt in that one, defeating James Island 60-38 behind Jayden Pretty who scored 31 points. The Blazers are no strangers to the state finals, having made six previous trips to that point of the calendar.
Under former head coach Yerrick Stoneman, Ridge View won four state championships but second-year head coach Joshua Staley is no stranger to playing this time of year. He led the Orangeburg-Wilkinson girls to three appearances in the state finals. At A.C. Flora, Staley led the Falcons to a pair of appearances in the state championship game with a title coming back to Falcon Drive in 2016.
The Blazers last won a state title in 2022, Stoneman' last season with the Blazers before leaving to take over the program at Oak Hill Academy.