Senior Lacey Suggs fired in 21 points, and her East Bladen Lady Eagles raced to leads of 12-0 and 21-2 en route to a 58-30 victory over visiting Clinton Thursday night in a showdown of unbeaten Four County Conference leaders.
The Lady Eagles flew out of the gate with 12 unanswered points. Senior Christiana Cromartie banked in a short jumper, and Suggs picked off a pass and raced for a lay-up then sank 2 free throws.
Senior guard Abby Ward drained a 3-pointer from the right corner, and Suggs sank 3 free throws to complete the 12-0 run. Guard Brielle Mitchell tossed in a runner for the first Clinton basket with only 9 seconds left in the first period.
Ward popped open and nailed 3-point shots from both corners to start the second quarter. Freshman Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson drilled a 17-footer, and Suggs canned another free throw with 3:51 left in the half to stretch the lead to 21-2.
“I thought we played good defense,” said East Bladen Coach Patty Evers. “We got out and defended the perimeter.”
The Lady Dark Horses adjusted and closed the half with a 10-4 run that trimmed the margin to 25-12. Sophmore Alex Canady bombed in a pair of 3-pointers and hooked in a 6-footer to spark the Clinton rally.
“We ran our offense in the first quarter, but we got away from it in the second,” noted Coach Evers. “They had changed defenses and gone to a triangle-and-two. Miller Heustess kept us alive in the third quarter.”
Heustess, a senior guard, popped in a pair of 12-foot jumpers in the first minute of the second half to push the lead to 29-13. Canady hit 2 free throws, but Suggs answered with two foul shots.
Canady delivered another 3-ball to make it 31-18, before Heustess knocked down an 8-footer off of a feed from junior Lexie Mendell for a 33-18 East lead.
A Canady lay-up closed the gap to 33-21 with 3:19 left in the period, but Cromartie buried 2 free throws and Suggs turned a steal into a lay-up.
Suggs hauled in a long pass for another lay-up, and assists from Ward produced lay-ups for Moore-Peterson and Suggs that capped the 10-3 spurt and increased the East lead to 43-24 at the quarter break.
Suggs found Heustess inside for a lay-up to begin the fourth period. Suggs made a free throw, but Mitchell flipped in a runner and a free throw to trim the margin to 46-29 with 3:42 remaining.
Two more Ward assists led to lay-ups for Suggs and Cromartie, Moore-Peterson sprinted for a lay-up in transition and junior Emily Scott pumped in a 12-foot jumper for a 54-29 lead.
“We showed more patience in the second half,” continued Coach Evers. “We moved the ball around and found the open person.”
Suggs just missed a double-double with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Ward finished with 9 points, 7 assists and 2 steals. Heustess followed with 8 points and 5 rebounds.
Cromartie contributed 6 points, a team-high 10 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 2 assists. Moore-Peterson netted 6 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had 3 steals. Scott pulled down 8 rebounds for the winners.
The Lady Eagles are now 2-0 in the Four County and 9-0 overall. “It was big to get those two wins over Midway and Clinton who are two of the better teams in our league,” said Coach Evers.
East Bladen will travel to East Columbus tonight for a non-conference game.
East Bladen (58) – Abby Ward 9, Lexie Mendell 4, Shardajah Brown, Emily Scott 2, Lacey Suggs 21, Miller Heustess 8, Danielle McDowell, Christiana Cromartie 6, Ashley Hardin 2, Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson 6.
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