It’s one thing to work toward winning a title. It’s another to be the defending state champion. The Blythewood Bengals girls’ basketball team is learning about the latter.

Blythewood capped off the 2025 season with a 28-2 record and the program’s first 5A Division I state championship.

“It is definitely different being the hunted instead of the hunter,” Blythewood head coach Emily Schaeffer said. “Everybody is going to come after us. Everybody is going to give us their best shot every night. We have to come in with the mentality that we have to give everybody our best shot. We are the team they want to beat. They want to go after us.”

The Bengals only lost two players to graduation, leaving the expectations rather high. They got off to a 1-3 start, but since then, the Bengals have won 13 of 14 games to hold a 14-4 record heading into the middle of January.

“I think we are getting it together,” Schaeffer said. “We started out kind of rough. We had some tough competition in the beginning. I kind of scheduled that on purpose to give them a little reality that the honeymoon of last year is over. We’ve bounced back from that and been on a winning streak since then. I’m pleased with what we are doing right now.”

The Bengals have won eight in a row as of January 14, with all but one by at least 18 points. They have won their five region games by at least 40 points each.

“The difference is the energy,” Schaeffer said. “I tell the girls all the time, they have to come out from the jump ball with the energy and not wait until the second half, which we did last year. We were a big third quarter team last year, and that’s something we’ve tried to change. We want to bring the energy from the tip instead of trying to play from behind and fight back after halftime.”

Being the hunted and getting off to fast starts are all part of the adjustments the team has made since hoisting the trophy in the Florence Civic Center last March.

“They play with more confidence,” Shaeffer said. “They have more trust in each other. I have the majority of everybody back. The confidence and trust and the things they saw and learned last year have definitely taken root as they trust and build on that with each other.”

Chase Thomas and India Williams, integral members of last year’s team, have played key roles on this year’s team as well.

“They’re definitely two of my leaders,” Schaeffer said. “They are good players. They are good leaders on the court. They grew last year. Their basketball IQ got better as they went down that road. That taught them a lot as well as the work they put in each day. The confidence they have, the trust, they definitely believe in themselves more and play with a deeper level of confidence.”

Schaeffer has also gotten quality minutes from Kirsten Fulton, an eighth grader, who played middle school basketball last year. She was a last-minute addition. Schaeffer has seen Fulton improve over the year because of that game experience.

Aniya Guerrero has seen her roll change from coming off the bench last year to starter this year. She’s taken control and plays with determination in the paint.

Madison Thomas and Kaila Spain have also played important roles this season.

While the Bengals have steamrolled their first five region opponents, the road gets a little tougher. Blythewood travels to Ridge View on January 20.

January concludes with trips to Westwood and Lugoff-Elgin sandwiched around a visit from Spring Valley. A trip to Sumter between home games against West Florence and Ridge View await the Bengals in February.

The returning experience and well known region opponents have helped Blythewood’s success.

“We saw them twice last year,” Schaeffer said. “Now we get to see them again. That familiarity definitely helps. You know what you’ll see, what you are going against, who they have, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. That is definitely taken into account when you are making the game plan.”

Schaeffer believes there are some keys for her team to follow if the Bengals are to continue having success the remainder of the regular season and into the postseason.

“We have to play together as a team,” Schaeffer said. “We can’t be a one-man show, a two-man show. We’ve got to have good minutes from a lot of people. We have to have depth. Four or five people can’t do it all. Two people can’t do it all. We have to play together as a team. Everybody has to be ready. Everybody has to be on board and buying in. When your name is called, go out there and produce and give us what we need at that time. We have to play as a team as well as improve on our game and what we need to do to be successful.”

The post Blythewood hitting its stride after rough start first appeared on Columbia Star.

January 15, 2026 | Columbia Star, The (SC)
Author/Byline: ops@our-hometown.com | Section: Sports