Dowling’s big night drives Byrnes to landmark win over Mauldin
Te’Ericka Dowling had a career-high 30 points, hit the 1,000-point mark, and helped fuel a come-from-behind win over defending state champs Mauldin, all in one night.
Friday night couldn’t have gone any better for Te’Ericka Dowling.
The Byrnes Lady Rebels basketball star collected three milestones in one game.
Dowling scored a career-high 30 points, banked in her 1,000th career point, and in the process, led the Lady Rebels to a 65-57 win over defending state champs Mauldin — Byrnes’ first win over the Lady Mavericks since 2019.
“I’m really proud to have reached the 1,000-point goal and score my career high,” said Dowling. “I’ve been putting in the work since I was little. It was big to do it against Mauldin, too. We haven’t been able to beat them the past few years. For us to go out there as a team and get them back, that was really cool.”
Dowling led the Lady Rebels (10-6) back from a 21-10 deficit in the first half to hand Mauldin (7-1) its first loss this season.
Before Friday night, Mauldin hadn’t suffered defeat since Dec. 30, 2022 — 371 days ago.
The Lady Mavs’ first victory on their now-snapped 24-game win streak? 56-34 over Byrnes on Jan. 5, 2023.
Exactly one year prior to Friday night.
“It felt really good for us to do that, because we knew people weren’t expecting us to win,” said Dowling.
“We had to chip away toward the end of the first quarter and all of the second quarter and play mentally tough,” said Byrnes head coach Missy Fowler. “These girls bore down and pulled it out.”
Dowling’s 30 points set a new personal best for the junior guard, and her 18 points in the second half helped the Lady Rebels pull away win over No. 1 Mauldin.
“Te’Ericka missed some easy shots at the beginning of the game, but she didn’t get down on herself,” said Fowler. “There have been times in the past where she’s done that, but not this game. She started hitting shots, and her confidence kept gaining.
“She’s the one we want taking shots. We talked about her playing more aggressive, and that’s what she did Friday night.”
Dowling said she thrives knowing she’s the team’s go-to shotmaker when it matters most.
“I live for those moments. Those big moments push me to do better and to keep growing as a player.”
Dowling and the Lady Rebels will hope to use Friday’s win as momentum heading into region play. They finished second in the region in 2022-23 behind Dorman.
They’ll open the region slate on Wednesday, Jan. 10, with a home matchup against Spartanburg.
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Mauldin 21 7 12 17 - 57
Byrnes 10 16 17 22 - 65
BYRNES STAT LEADERS
Te’Ericka Dowling - 30 points
Chassidy Rookard - 15 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds
Ellison Silver - 8 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds
Jaida Johnson 5 points, 8 rebounds