ELIZABETHTOWN – East Bladen’s unbeaten Lady Eagles built leads of 20-6 and 39-11 en route to a 60-37 non-conference girls’ basketball victory over West Columbus Thursday night.
Freshman Iveonna “NeNe” Ward fired in 14 points, came up with 6 steals and dished out 4 assists for East Bladen. Senior Alexus Mitchell shared scoring honors with Ward and totaled 14 points and 4 steals. Senior Maya McDonald tallied 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
Freshman Laila Smith pumped in 9 points and added 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. Junior Maegan Burney tossed in 7 points. Junior Brianna Phillips grabbed 5 rebounds. Junior AnnaGrey Heustess finished with 3 blocked shots and 3 steals.
Mitchell opened the game with a 3-point basket, and Ward turned a pair of steals into a pair of lay-ups. McDonald stole the ball and pitched ahead to Burney for a lay-up and an early 10-2 lead.
After wholesale substitutions by the Lady Eagles, Laila Smith drove for a lay-up and hit 2 free throws. Sophomore Zoe Smith sent assists to Laila Smith and Brianna Phillips for lay-ups, and Phillips drilled in a corner jumper for a 20-6 lead at the quarter break.
Ward buried a 3-point shot to begin the 2nd period. McDonald sank 2 free throws, set up a Mitchell lay-up with a pass then bombed in a 3-ball. Burney turned a Ward assist into a lay-up then stole the ball and netted another lay-up for a 34-6 lead.
Mitchell drained a 3-point shot then sent a feed to Laila Smith for a lay-up and a 39-11 halftime lead. The scoring slowed down after halftime. Mitchell popped in 2 free throws and a corner jumper, and Ward drove for a lay-up and a 45-22 lead at the quarter break.
Ward started the final period with a 3-point play then sent assists to McDonald and Heustess for lay-ups. Burney hit a foul shot, McDonald drove for a lay-up and a pair of Ward steals resulted in lay-ups for Ward and Mitchell as the lead grew to 59-22.
“The shots were not falling for us tonight,” said Lady Eagle Coach Patty Evers. “We missed a lot of easy shots and we have got to clean that up. The second group came in and did a good job for us in the first half.”
Senior Haley Brown topped all scorers with 16 points for West Columbus.
The Lady Eagles, now 12-0, will travel to Fairmont for a key Southeastern Conference game Monday night. The Golden Tornadoes are 7-3 after a 37-25 win at Clinton Tuesday.
West Columbus 6 5 11 5 – 27
East Bladen 20 19 6 15 – 60
West Columbus (27) – Destiny Bellamy 6, Tierra Braddy, Rheya Collins, Shatavia Wilson, Kimel Lennon, Honesti McKenzie 5, Haley Brown 16, Dalijanae Willis, Madison Thomas, Tigeria Chisholm.
East Bladen (60) – Iveonna Ward 14, Martha Simmons, Maya McDonald 10, Alexus Mitchell 14, AnnaGrey Heustess 2, Karli Priest, Zoe Smith, Maegan Burney 7, Laila Smith 9, Brianna Phillips 4.
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