BLADENBORO — Hailey Taylor and Tiekeriah Tisdale combined for 15 points Tuesday to lead Clarkton School of Discovery to a 22-18 victory over Tar Heel in the opening round of the Bladen County Middle School Girls Basketball Tournament.
Coach Alexandria Moore’s Lady Blue Devils raised their record to 3-8 and will play Elizabethtown in Thursday’s championship game at 4 p.m. Tar Heel has completed their season.
Taylor finished with 9 points to lead the Clarkton scoring. Tisdale followed with 6 points. Abigail Dew posted a game-high 10 points for Tar Heel. Teammates Genesis Fernanta-Villafuerte and Savannah Wooten netted 3 points each.
Taylor tossed in 2 baskets, and Tisdale bombed in a 3-point shot as the Lady Blue Devils grabbed an early 7-2 lead. Fernanta-Villafuerte flipped in a Lady Panther basket.
Tisdale nailed another 3-point shot in the 2nd quarter, and Taylor and Zoey Barger popped in baskets as Clarkton maintained a 14-9 halftime lead. Dew sank 2 baskets and 2 free throws for Tar Heel in the period, and Savannah Wooten cashed in a free throw.
Wooten and Dew threw in Lady Panther baskets in the 3rd period, but Taylor dropped in a basket, and Kynzlee Wood made a free throw to keep the Lady Blue Devils on top 17-13.
Martia Jackson and Rahnyiah McLean pumped in Clarkton baskets in the final period, and Taylor netted a free throw. Dew and Serenity Council rallied Tar Heel with a basket each, and Fernanta-Villafuerte added a foul shot.
Tar Heel 2 7 4 5 — 18
Clarkton 7 7 3 5 — 22
Tar Heel (18) — Abigail Dew 10, Genesis Fernanta-Villafuerte 3, Serenity Council 2, Jannet Hardin, Carolina Martinez, Savannah Wooten 3, Bryanna Brady.
Clarkton (22) — Rahnyiah McLean 2, Hailey Taylor 9, Tiekeriah Tisdale 6, Kynzlee Wood 1, Imani Bowens, Zoey Barger 2, Trinity Davis, Martia Jackson 2, Sky Johnson, Aliah Jacobs, Khloey Smith, Cameron Wood.