East Bladen’s Lady Eagles, the No. 13 seed in the East, take their 24-3 record to Beaufort Thursday to battle 4th seeded East Carteret (17-2) in a 2nd round NCHSAA Class 2A Girls Basketball Playoff game that will begin at 6 p.m. Admission is $8.
Coach Patty Evers’ Lady Eagles were runners-up in the Southeastern Athletic Conference and all 3 of their losses were to Eastern No. 1 seed St. Pauls. East Carteret won the Coastal Plains 1A/2A Conference with a 9-1 league mark. They dropped a league contest 46-42 to Pamlico County and a Christmas tournament game 61-37 to No. 14 Eastern seed Southwest Onslow.
The Lady Eagles fired in nine 3-point shots in their 61-36 opening round victory over Clinton. Senior Alexus Mitchell and junior AnnaGrey Heustess scored 15 points each to lead the East Bladen attack. Junior Maegan Burney pumped in 12 points, and senior Maya McDonald tallied 8 points and had 10 steals.
McDonald leads the Lady Eagles in scoring (13.2 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg), and assists (5 per game). Mitchell averages 10.6 ppg and Burney adds 9.5 ppg. Freshman “NeNe” Ward leads the team in steals (4.7 spg).
Sophomore Tanzania Locklear tossed in 13 of her game-high 23 points in the 4th quarter Tuesday night as East Carteret closed the game with a 26-11 run that carried the Lady Mariners to a 58-45 1st round win over Edenton Holmes.
Teammate Kenliana Dixon tossed in 12 points, and Sydney Roberson added 11 points. The Lady Mariners connected on 20 of 27 free throws against Holmes and were 11 for 13 at the line after halftime.
Locklear scores 18.4 ppg to lead the East Carteret attack. Roberson, a 5-9 junior, contributes 11.4 ppg, and Kenliana Dixon, a 5-7 sophomore, averages 10.7 ppg. Senior Kendalyn Dixon and junior Hailey Grady are other key players for the Lady Mariners.
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