Clinton 46, West Bladen 33
Guard Kristen Glasper banked in a trio of lay-ups during a 15-5 closing run that carried Clinton to a 46-33 Four County Conference girls basketball victory at West Bladen Friday night.
Sophomore Laikyn Pait sank 2 free throws to begin the final quarter and bring the Lady Knights to within 31-28.
Brielle Mitchell put back a rebound and Zoey Harris dropped in a lay-up to stretch the Lady Dark Horse lead to 35-28.
Senior Alex Perry threw in an 8-footer to trim the margin to 35-30 with 6:34 left to play. After a Clinton basket, senior guard Tierra McKoy sank 2 foul shots to keep the Lady Knights within 37-32 with 5:54 remaining.
Glasper powered in a bank shot, tacked on a free throw, then dropped in a pair of lay-ups to open up a 44-32 Clinton lead.
Jasmine Fryar led the Clinton scoring with 11 points. Glasper finished with 10 points, and Mitchell and Harris added 8 points each.
Pait and sophomore Logan Autry topped the West Bladen scoring with 6 points each. Perry, McKoy, senior Evelin Ortiz and senior Delasia Richardson all scored 4 points each.
Senior Breanna Jackson pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for West Bladen, and Richardson grabbed 10 rebounds. Autry contributed 4 rebounds and 3 steals, and Pait blocked 2 shots and corralled 4 rebounds.
Autry drilled a 3-point shot to start the game, and Richardson muscled in a follow shot to give West an early 5-0 lead. Sophomore Alanna Ludlum sank a free throw, and senior Miriam Mendoza banked in a runner off of an assist from sophomore Akira Grimes for an 8-3 lead.
Pait pumped in a baseline jumper to keep the Lady Knights ahead 10-5 with 5:38 left in the half. A Glasper runner and four points from Harris keyed a 12-1 Clinton run that produced a 17-11 lead.
Pait put back a rebound to close the gap to 17-13, and Clinton led 18-13 at halftime.
A 10-4 Clinton run upped the count to 28-17 with 2:41 left in the third quarter. Ortiz stopped the spurt with a rebound basket, but Alina Capps’ lay-up made it 31-19 Clinton.
A pair of McKoy free throws, a short jumper by Ortiz set up by a Richardson assist, and two free throws by Perry brought West Bladen to within 31-26 at the quarter break.
West Bladen drops into a second-place tie with Clinton. The Lady Knights are 3-1 in the league and 6-7 overall. West Bladen will host Midway Friday at 6 p.m.
WB (33) – Miriam Mendoza 2, Kassidy Anderson, Breanna Jackson 1, Alanna Ludlum 2, Akira Grimes, Delasia Richardson 4, Jenna Dove, Tierra McKoy 4, Kaylee Stevens, Alex Perry 4, Evelin Ortiz 4, Logan Autry 6, Laikyn Pait 6.
About Author
