CHIPLEY — When Chipley faces Hawthorne in Wednesday’s Class 1A girls basketball state semifinals, the Tigers are likely to see a player in Kimesha Mann they are somewhat familiar with.
The sophomore not only leads the Hornets, 20-3, in scoring at 14.4 points per game, her overall game is very impressive. She also leads her team with an average of 7.1 assists and 5.4 steals, and she is third on the squad in rebounding with 5.0.
It’s just that Chipley, 24-5, has a similar version in junior Amanda Paschal, and the Tigers are quite happy with what they have by comparison.
(Click here for photos from the regional championship)
“They’re similar, she produces in different areas,” Chipley first-year varsity head coach Kimberly Tuel said of Mann, possibly a younger model of Paschal. “That’s exactly what it looks like.”
Chipley and Hawthorne tip off at 12:30 p.m. CST. That semifinal is preceded by Paxton vs. Chiefland, the two winners meeting 11:05 a.m. Thursday for the championship.
Paschal is by no means an equivalent to Chris Walker of Holmes County, who nearly single-handedly led the Blue Devils to the 1A boys crown last year and currently plays at the University of Florida.
But her contributions to the score sheet indeed verge on incredible. She leads the Tigers in scoring (20.6), rebounding (7.3), assists (5.7) and steals (5.0).
And Tuel is more than comfortable with her supporting cast.
“Amanda is a special player, but we have a lot that rise up to it,” Tuel said. “We have quite a few that produce.”
Among them are Karlisha Works, Brittany Lee, Parisha Massaline and Essence Williams, who all average between 6-8 points. Lee, Williams and Works scored in double figures in the region championship victory against Holmes County. Williams is the second-leading rebounder (5.0).
Paschal is the lone Chipley player who saw court time when the Tigers lost to South Walton in last year’s championship game, Tuel did acknowledge that a number of Tigers made the trip, however, and aren’t going in blind. They know what the experience of traveling to Lakeland, the Tigers leaving at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, and competing at the state level is all about.
That process also could provide an advantage against Hawthorne, making its inaugural trip to the Final Four, and with a roster that not only doesn’t feature one senior, has only three juniors. The remainder are sophomores, freshmen, and a seventh- and eighth-grader.
“We know they’re young, but otherwise we don’t really know much about them,” Tuel said.
She did sound confident that her ballclub can adjust to just about any style and strategy that it faces Wednesday.
“We do whatever works,” Tuel said. “Zone, fullcourt, if they want to go halfcourt we can play man-to-man halfcourt. We don’t just stick to one thing.
“We make sure that our schedule has bigger schools. We played Alabama schools in a tournament. I put the bar very high.”
In addition to Mann, Hawthorne boasts sophomore Breanna Fomby with a 9.6 scoring average and junior Brook Burns at 9.1. Burns leads in rebounding at 6.9 with sophomore Keinetra Hills contributing 6.6 rebounds and 6.5 points.