Philip Simmons earned its first postseason win in program history, 68-40 over Calhoun County in the opening round of the AA girls state playoffs Tuesday in Cainhoy.
Taleiyah Gibbs led the Iron Horses with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Kylee Kellerman added 13 points with six rebounds, Kennedy Rivers scored 13 points and Zhaire Mack turned in her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 boards. Gibbs, Kellerman, Rivers and Mack are all in the eighth grade.
Gibbs scored 11 points, while Calhoun County managed just two baskets as a team, to help the Iron Horses push ahead 17-5 through the opening quarter.
Kellerman scored eight and Mack added seven in the second quarter to send Philip Simmons into halftime ahead 41-15. Rivers scored eight points off a pair of three-pointers in the third and the Iron Horses led 56-27 entering the fourth.
Janel Brown finished with a team-best nine points for Calhoun County.
Philip Simmons, seeded third out of Region 6, will travel to top-seeded Woodland Friday in the second round.
Cougars advance
North Charleston moved past Allendale-Fairfax, 61-29, in its AA playoff opener on Tuesday.
Cougars sophomore Tranell Mitchell-Smalls scored 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with 10 rebounds and eight steals. Ca’Vashia Johnson scored 16 points with 10 assists and five steals, while Treasure Kinloch added 12 points for the Cougars, who shot 51 percent from the field as a team.
North Charleston led 12-11 at the end of the first quarter and held just a 21-17 advantage at halftime. The Cougars outscored the Tigers 19-5 in the third quarter and 21-7 in the fourth.
The second-seeded Cougars will travel to top-seeded East Clarendon in the second round on Friday.
