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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
Freshman Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson fired in a career-high 19 points as unbeaten East Bladen rolled to a 62-29 Four County Conference girls basketball victory at Union Friday night.
Moore-Peterson also grabbed 8 rebounds and sparked a 20-5 first half run with 11 points. Senior Lacey Suggs filled the stat sheet with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists.
Senior guard Abby Ward pumped in 13 points, dished out 8 assists and had 5 steals and 4 rebounds for East. Freshman Ashley Hardin pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds and added 7 points.
Senior Christiana Cromartie blocked 5 shots and collected 4 rebounds for the winners, and teammate Emily Scott corralled 6 rebounds.
The Lady Eagles ranked No. 1 in some Class 2A State polls started slowly. Senior Miller Heustess scored the first basket, and Suggs sank 3 free throws and dropped in a lay-up for a 7-0 lead, but Union closed the gap to 7-3 midway the quarter.
“I called a time-out and lit a fire under them,” said East Bladen Coach Patty Evers. “We were getting in foul trouble because we weren’t moving our feet on defense. It wasn’t due to any lay-off. Our second group challenges them every day in practice. We had a great practice yesterday.”
The freshman connection produced a 3-point play as Moore-Peterson found Hardin underneath for a lay-up with a plus-one free throw tacked on. Moore-Peterson raced for a transition lay-up, popped in a 10-footer, then drove for a lay-up and a 16-3 lead.
The Eagles led 16-6 at the quarter break. Heustess canned a corner jumper, and Moore-Peterson drove for a lay-up and drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner. Suggs drove for a lay-up, and Ward nailed a 15-footer for a 27-8 East Bladen lead.
Hardin put back a rebound basket, and Suggs snatched a rebound and pitched ahead to Ward for a lay-up. Ward buried a 3-pointer from the right corner, Suggs dropped in a lay-up, and Ward delivered a 17-footer for a 38-13 halftime lead.
Ward flipped in a runner to begin the second half then assisted on a pair of Suggs lay-ups. Moore-Peterson banked in a follow and hit a free throw. A Suggs pass produced a Hardin lay-up and a 49-19 Lady Eagle lead at the quarter break.
Ward connected from 17 feet to start the final quarter. Suggs put back a pair of rebound baskets, and Ward sent a pass to Moore-Peterson for a lay-up. Danielle McDowell and Moore-Peterson added lay-ups in the final minutes.
The Lady Eagles improved to 6-0 in the league and 16-0 overall. East Bladen travels to rival West Bladen Tuesday night.
East Bladen (62) – Abby Ward 13, Lexie Mendell, Michelle Page, Shardajah Brown, Emily Scott, Lacey Suggs 17, Miller Heustess 4, Danielle McDowell 2, Christiana Cromartie, Ashley Hardin 7, Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson 19.
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