The 400 career win club for S.C. High School League girls’ basketball coaches welcomed its newest member this past Friday at the Temple of Doom.

Monica Williams entered that elite group following her 2nd ranked Lady Yellow Jackets’ 65-31 victory over Dutch Fork in the latest ‘Battle of Irmo’.

Irmo took control from the outset, jumping out to a 18-6 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. It would increase to 40-13 at halftime as Eh-rial Wagstaff and Maliyiah Mason nearly individually outscored the Lady Silver Foxes in the 1st half.

Both finished with 17 points to lead the Lady Yellow Jackets (15-3, 3-0) to their 5th straight win.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, fans and former players began passing out ‘400’ flyers in the stands. Once the game ended, Williams and the team posed with a special poster commemorating the achievement and Lexington-Richland District 5 officials presented her an encased game ball.

“I had no clue,” said Williams about whether she thought about reaching 400 career wins when she took over the Irmo program 20 years ago. “No. I did not. For 23 years, I have been coaching and this one is special for sure. I’m going to enjoy it.”

The ‘Battle of Irmo’ marked 1 of the final non-region matchups prior to the post-season. Following the milestone win, Williams quickly turned her attention to Tuesday’s critical Region 4-5A road game at 5th ranked Sumter.

The 2 teams are tied for 1st place in the lost column.

“That’s going to be a tough 1 for us,” she said. “So, hopefully we’ll carry a lot of momentum from this game to Tuesday night.”

Region 5-5A is equally competitive for 1st place for girls and boys.

Lexington traveled to The Swamp Tuesday seeking a win over front-running River Bluff to move into a 1st place tie in the girls’ standings.

Meanwhile, Dutch Fork, Lexington and River Bluff were locked in a 3-way tie entering Tuesday’s action.

The results and this week’s S.C. Basketball Coaches Association rankings are now available at www.lexingtonchronicle.com .