Photo by DARIN HALL/Sports

Strom Thurmond High School's Courtney Mealing brings the ball up the court against the Barnwell High defense.

JOHNSTON - Courtney Mealing has picked up right where she left off last season.

The standout senior scorer topped the 30-point scoring barrier twice as the Strom Thurmond Lady Rebels basketball team got the regular season started on a positive note with a pair of victories last week over Barnwell and Midland Valley.

Mealing had 31 in the 65-62 win over Barnwell, adding 34 in a 57-32 romp over Midland Valley.
Citiyah Burton added 12 points and seven points, respectively, in each contest. A'Dreanna Truesdell also had nine points against Barnwell.

Amanda Parks chipped in with 10 points against the Lady Mustangs.

The Lady Rebels jumped on Barnwell 22-10 at the end of the first quarter, but the visiting Lady Warhorses (a perennial playoff team) made defensive adjustments and closed the gap to make the game very interesting in the final quarter.

Against the Lady Mustangs, Strom Thurmond dialed up the defensive pressure in a second quarter that saw the Lady Rebels blow the game wide open for a 26-13 lead at the half.
The Lady Rebels outscored Midland Valley by six in the third and never looked back.

STROM THURMOND 65, BARNWELL 62

BARNWELL (62) - Jasmine Tooks 11, Britney Williams 15, Britney Breeland 4, Jasmine Breeland 6, Jasmine Cheston 12, Ashley Frank 2, Megahan Williams 10, Alanna Williams 2. Totals: 23 10-24 62.

STROM THURMOND (65) - Ashley Parks 2, Amanda Parks 3, Octavia Etheridge 2, Courtney Mealing 31, Junicia Lee 2, Citiyah Burton 12, Chanice Jackson 4, Takia Clark 2, AÕDreanna Truesdell, 9. Totals: 19 27-35 65.

Barnwell 10 17 12 23 - 62
Strom Thurmond 22 16 8 19 - 65

STROM THURMOND 57, MIDLAND VALLEY 32

MIDLAND VALLEY (32) - Dani Frank 9, Courtney Howell 2, Katie Dyches 8. Totals: 11 10-25 32.

STROM THURMOND (57) - Amanda Parks 10, Courtney Mealing 34, Citiyah Burton 7, Charnise Jackson 2, A'dreanna Truesvell 4. Totals: 23 10-17 57.

M. Valley 10 3 9 10 - 32
S. Thurmond 10 16 15 16 - 57

3-point goals: Strom Thurmond 1 (Burton).