This week’s Chronicle Athlete of the Week winners helped their teams pick up important wins on the basketball court in the final week before the beginning of region play. 

Voting for Athlete of the Week runs from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Monday each week at lexingtonchronicle.com/athleteoftheweek.

Ta’Maj Gilliam

Batesburg-Leesville’s Ta’Maj Gilliam was voted Athlete of the Week after helping the Panthers capture their seventh win this season with a victory over Horse Creek Academy. 

Gilliam scored a team-high 19 points in the 71-48 blowout victory over the Stallions. It was one of many leading performances for Gilliam, who has been a consistent scoring option for Batesburg-Leesville this season. 

The Panthers’ win improved the team to 7-4 ahead of its first slate of region games this week.

Ahleira Leaphart 

Gilbert’s Ahleira Leaphart continues to shine and carry her team to victory with impressive displays of scoring. 

Leaphart put up another explosive performance last week against Fox Creek, scoring 29 points in Gilbert’s 52-18 win. This was Leaphart’s fifth game with 20-plus points, not including contests over the holiday break. 

She has also been a pest on the defensive end, recording an absurd number of steals per contest. Against Fox Creek, Leaphart recorded a double-double by adding 15 steals to her scoring total.