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By Sonny Jones

ELIZABETHTOWN — East Bladen used an early barrage of 3-pointers to move into sole possession of third place in the Southeastern Athletic Conference.

NeNe Ward, AnnaGrey Heustess, Zoe Smith and Maegan Burney each connected from long range in the first quarter and Karli Priest added a pair of 3-point field goals in the second quarter as the Eagles led from start to finish Tuesday night in beating Red Springs 48-33.

It was the final regular season home game for seniors Brianna Phillips, Heustess, Burney and Priest. The Eagles will host a first-round game in the conference tournament Monday.

Before the conference tournament, East Bladen will play at St. Pauls (16-4, 10-1 SAC) on Friday to end the regular season.

The Eagles, 15-6 overall and 7-4 in SAC play, moved a game ahead of Red Springs (12-11, 6-5) and avenged an earlier 44-40 loss against the Red Devils.

Sophomore Laila Smith and Burney each scored 11 points to lead the East Bladen offense. Smith also had nine rebounds and six assists. Ward had four points, seven steals and three assists. Priest collected eight rebounds, had a pair of steals and netted three 3-pointers. Heustess scored five points and blocked four shots.

East Bladen limited Red Springs’ Monica Washington to 10 points Tuesday. The center scored 18 points and collected 17 rebounds in the Red Devils’ victory Jan. 17.

The Eagles scored all of their points off 3-pointers in the first quarter in building a 12-7 advantage.

East Bladen scored the first 13 points of the second quarter in bolting to a 25-7 lead. Priest’s first 3-pointer started the rally. It ended with a lay-up followed by a pair of free throws by Burney. Priest’s second 3-pointer of the period helped East Bladen to a 28-13 halftime lead.

Priest’s final 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter gave East Bladen a 41-21 lead. Martha Simmons capped the Eagles’ scoring with a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining.

Red Springs 7 6 6 14 — 33
East Bladen 12 16 8 12 — 48

RED SPRINGS (33) — Rilee Sampson, Elora Oxendine 3, Sydney Bell 8, Monica Washington 10, Jada Kells 7, Nakira Hunt 5, Adrianna Locklear, Genesis McCadney, Cabanna Wilkins.

EAST BLADEN (48) — NeNe Ward 4, Martha Simmons 2, Ariel Cromartie 2, Cabria Baldwin, AnnaGrey Heustess 5, Karlie Priest 9, Zoe Smith 3, Maegan Burney 11, Laila Smith 11, Nia McKoy, Brianna Phillips, Niyha Wooten 1.