J.L. Mann girls basketball falls to Blythewood in Class AAAAA Upper State final

J.L. Mann's Jade Hailstock left it all on the floor.

But the Patriots still came up short, falling to Blythewood 64-59 Saturday afternoon in the Class AAAAA girls basketball Upper State final in Florence.

Hailstock finished with a team-high 24 points. Junior guard Olivia McKinney had 15.

The Patriots (21-7) were down by three with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter. They scoured the court for an open teammate to shoot the 3-pointer, hoping to send the game to overtime.

But Blythewood's (28-2) lockdown defense made it tough, forcing J.L. Mann's Brie Carson to go for the layup, which grazed off the rim.

Despite the loss, the Patriots, who at one point were down by 14 points, showed the utmost resilience after trailing the Bengals 20-8 at the end of the first quarter.

Blythewood was scorching from 3-point range, going 4-for-4 in the opening quarter and hitting eight in the first half.

The future is bright for JL Mann, which is expected to return four starters next season.

Kamryn Jackson covers high school and college sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Greenville News, Anderson Independent Mail, and the USA TODAY Network. Please email her at KEJackson@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @KamxJack.