Presbyterian entered the Hercules Tires Big South Championships as the defending champion, but that was 2023-24, and PC pulled off that upset – or those upsets, three of them — as the fifth seed.
In the opening game this year, matching the tournament’s bottom two seeds and two first-year head coaches, UNC Asheville eliminated the Blue Hose, 69-63, as PC came unraveled in the final 23 seconds at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn., on Wednesday.

Thus did the season end for Presbyterian (6-24), which saw its season come to a close and UNC Asheville’s (4-26) continue briefly. The Bulldogs are to face top-seeded High Point next. The only two victories for the Bulldogs against Big South foes were against PC.
Yet it was a spirited game, well played and marked by gallant performances by players from both teams.
Presbyterian’s Kishyah Anderson scored 31 points. She hit 14/22 shots.
UNCA’s Alana Swift scored 30. She hit 10/16 shots, but more importantly at the end, four free throws when the Blue Hose had to foul.

PC trailed, 65-63, with possession and 23 seconds left. The inbounds play went terribly wrong, and it bounced from Anderson’s grasp and out of bounds. Twice the Hose had to foul, twice it was Swift, who hits nearly 90 percent, and she applied the dagger.
Paige Kindseth recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The game began in a shower of 3-pointers.
Attempts, that is. PC hit only two of its first seven, while UNCA was 3/6, but it was 12-12 entering the final two minutes of the first quarter. Dakota McCaughan splashed one at the end, and the Bulldogs led, 19-16, after one.

McCaughan scored 21 points against Presbyterian earlier in the season, and she scored nine points in the first quarter but only 12 in the game.
Anderson, who scored at least 27 points in PC’s last five games, exited the game favoring her left ankle early in the second quarter. Swift, who had suffered an injury in the first quarter, returned shortly after Anderson left. They both returned to excel.
A Shelby Fiddler triple tied the game at 26 at the 5:36 mark of the second quarter. Presbyterian went to halftime leading, 40-37, led by Anderson with 15. PC hit 17/33 first-half field-goal attempts in spite of popping only 3/12 triples. The Hose won the battle of the boards, 26-22.

Shooting for both teams cooled early in the second half. The teams mainly swapped buckets in the third quarter, which ended with Presbyterian leading, 52-50.
The Bulldogs turned to full-court pressure, which rattled the Blue Hose in the final quarter.
Two free throws by Swift tied the score at 61 with just over four minutes left. Anderson surpassed 30 points on an intermediate jumper that gave PC the lead again, 63-61, with 2:29 remaining.
The Blue Hose did not score again.

Elizabeth Reid finds great solace in her trips across the countryside. She calls it her “quiet time.” The Clinton High senior is taking her cross-country skills to Lander University in the fall.
The loneliness of the long-distance runner also served the purpose of bringing her closer to God, she said.
Her career as a Red D evil has been a distinguished one, though an injury in her junior year plagued her as she recovered from surgery. She and brother William are among the more distinguished athletes at CHS ever in their sport.

Late last year, William was part of a group of the state’s best runners who ceremonially transported the game ball to the Shrine Bowl. He finished fifth in the state Class 2A meet, where the team finished fourth.
Led by Elizabeth, who finished 18th, the Clinton girls took 11th.
Both teams had their highest finish ever in the state meet, which was contested in Newberry.

In the fourth inning at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Ryan Ouzts homered to give Presbyterian a 2-0 lead over fourth-ranked Clemson.
The Tigers (12-1) didn’t have the lumber unloaded yet.

Clemson went on to score six runs in the fifth, four in the seventh, and one in the eighth to secure an 11-2 victory over PC on Wednesday.

Jarren Purify and Jack Crighton each had three hits for the Tigers. Purify, the second baseman, lashed a double and a triple. Ouzts and Jake Randolph had two hits for the Blue Hose (7-7), who next travel to Tuscaloosa for a weekend series with Alabama.
Chance Fitzgerald (1-0) earned the decision despite giving up Ouzts’ blast. PC starter Tyrell Williams (0-1) took the loss.

Words can ill express my appreciation for the assistance I’ve been getting from lifelong friends and acquaintances in regard to my recent health struggles. I am deeply touched at the concern of people I’ve known for most of my life.

The coming months will bring more change, and I don’t know yet what shape it will take.
From time to time, I have thought it a shame that people don’t often know what others think of them while they are alive. I’ve had a rough go of it recently, but I know that others respect, appreciate and support me.
Thanks for reading my stories, overlooking my flaws and indulging our differences.

My books, most of them fiction, are available at Amazon and on other bookseller sites. I’ve written two novels about stock-car racing, Lightning in a Bottle, and the sequel, Life Gets Complicated, both about fictional young driver Barrie Jarman.
Thanks for putting up with me.