John HartSat, February 28, 2026 at 3:41 AM UTC·2 min readSUMTER, S.C. (WJBF) – The Wardlaw Academy girls basketball team captured its first South Carolina Independent School Association state championship since 2009 with a 43-39 victory over rival Richard Winn Academy at the Sumter County Civic Center in Sumter, South Carolina on Friday night.
“What a storybook ending,” said Kristina Spurlock, in her 12th year as head coach after winning two state championships as a Wardlaw player. “It’s great to bring another one home”.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Patriots trailed for the entirety of the first half, down by as many as 16 at one point before trimming it to seven at halftime.
“I think nerves came into play,” Spurlock said. “We were nervous at first and they were hitting everything. Basketball is a game of runs. We called time out to stop that run of momentum and I don’t think they scored more than two points the rest of that quarter”.
The second half was all Wardlaw as they outscored Richard Winn 26-15 en route to winning the state championship. Seniors Katherine Trotter and Taylor Hill led the way with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Both were named to the All-Tournament Team.
“Honestly, it’s overwhelming”, Hill said while still clutching the championship trophy. “We’ve worked so hard for this. I think tonight we just worked as one and came together and played the best we could play”.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It means everything,” Spurlock said. “We built this foundation of a solid program and the fruit fell for us today. We had a hard start, but man those girls – they work so hard and they gave it their all. That’s what I needed from them.”
The Patriots avenged three regular season losses to Richard Winn and, after advancing to the Final Four two seasons ago and the state championship game in 2025, got to cut down the net. For Spurlock, it’s just the beginning.
“They continue to grow together and the cool thing is that it doesn’t just end here,” she said. “We get to keep on keep going.”
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