Junior Carson Justice handles the ball in tournament play earlier this season. Her near tripple double led the Eagles to a 14-0 record.

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Point guard Pat Pope calls for the ball as he slashes the basket on a give and go play.

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WINNSBORO — Basketball fans pining for a match-up between Eagles and Griffins will get their way on Friday. No, it is not an all-Fairfield County match-up of area schools. Instead the Griffins of Spartanburg Day school come to town to take on the Richard Winn Academy Eagles.

Both the boys and girls squads have momentum headed into the region contest. The Lady Eagles ran their perfect record to 14-0 over the weekend in Newberry, defeating the King Academy Knights 52-19 to take the tournament championship. Carson Justice led the Lady Eagles with 19 points. She nearly had a triple double, adding 13 rebounds and nine assists. Jaycie Johnson chipped in 13 points and Jessie Stidham added 11 for the Eagles.

At 5-5 the Lady Griffins from Spartanburg Day have had more of an up and down season than the Eagles, but Coach Jason Haltiwanger expects a spirited contest in their first region game on January 4.

“They are a well-coached team and it will be tough to score because they are in the right places,” Haltiwanger said. “They are fundamentally sound, especially with their man-to-man defense. It should be a fun game.”

He said the biggest challenge for his team will be their ability to handle on the ball pressure. Spartanburg Day has its starting point guard back from injury and she is a nose on the ball defender. It will be important for the Eagles to remain patient on offense.

“If we can get into our transition game before they can set their defense, we should play well,” Haltiwanger said.

On the other side of the hardwood, the Richard Winn Academy varsity boys team got back into their winning ways in the consolation round of the weekend tournament hosted by Newberry Academy. They defeated the 5-4 King Academy Knights 60-44.

Senior Logan Gibbons led the team with 20 points. Point guard Pat Pope chipped in 12 points for the Eagles. Their record improved to 2-6 with the victory and the win allowed the Eagles to head into region play on a positive note. The Eagles begin SCISA AA Region III play on Jan. 4 against Spartanburg Day.