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By Sonny Jones

Usually, the first round of the state playoffs matches teams that haven’t played each other during the season.

That won’t be the case for the East Bladen Eagles and Red Springs Red Devils in the opening round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2-A East girls’ basketball tournament. The Southeastern Athletic Conference members will be meeting for the third time Tuesday and the losing team will have its season ended.

Game time is 6 p.m. inside the East Bladen High School gymnasium. Admission is $8 cash at the door. The East Bladen boys play North Lenoir afterward.

The winner of Tuesday’s game will play Thursday either at No. 3 Elizabeth City Northeastern or home against No. 30 Princeton.

Which team will win Tuesday’s NCHSAA playoff game?

— Bladen Online (@BladenOnline) February 21, 2023

East Bladen (18-7, No. 14 seed) and Red Springs (13-13, No. 19 seed) split its regular season meetings. The Red Devils won 44-40 on Jan. 17 as sophomore Monica Washington had 18 points, 17 rebounds and a pair of key three-point plays in the fourth quarter. On Feb. 7, East Bladen connected on six 3-pointers in the first half en route to a 48-33 victory.

A pair of sophomores lead the East Bladen offense. Lalia Smith averages 16.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. NeNe Ward averages 10 points and 4.7 rebounds while netting a team-high 33 3-pointers. The point guard also sank the game-winning shot last week in a 42-40 win against Fairmont in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

Seniors Maegan Burney (9.8 points, 4 rebounds, 2.1 steals), AnnaGrey Heustess (5.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 blocks) and Karli Priest (4.5 points, 3 rebounds) play strong defense and can provide extra scoring. Priest has made 29 3-pointers and Heustess has made 28.

Washington does most of the offensive damage for Red Springs, averaging 11.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. Senior Sydney Bell has averaged 9.6 points per game this season.

East Bladen began the season with eight consecutive wins, lost a pair of non-conference games against 4-A opponents over the Christmas holidays, then won three straight to enter a showdown game against Fairmont with an 11-2 record.

The 63-48 loss to Fairmont began a three-game losing streak, but the Eagles ended the season by winning seven of their last nine, which included a 55-49 decision against St. Pauls in the tournament championship game. The victory snapped a 10-game losing streak against St. Pauls.