FAIRMONT – East Bladen’s unbeaten Lady Eagles pounded Fairmont with a 33-7 first quarter blitz en route to a 66-17 Three Rivers Conference girls basketball victory Monday night.
Senior Ashley Hardin rattled in a 17-footer to start the game, and after an Erica McKoy steal, senior Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson drilled in a 3-pointer from the corner.
McKoy and Moore-Peterson hit free throws, before a series of Lady Eagle steals resulted in four lay-ups by junior Patience Ward, two more lay-ups by Moore-Peterson and a pair of McKoy free throws for a 21-4 East lead.
Hardin drained a 3-pointer for a 24-4 lead midway the period, before East Bladen Coach Patty Evers subbed for all five starters. Senior Anna Kate White turned an Alexus Mitchell assist into a lay-up, and freshman Mya McDonald sank a free throw.
When the East starters returned for the final minute of the period, McKoy stole the ball and raced for a lay-up. Moore-Peterson put back a rebound then pitched ahead to Ward for a lay-up and the 33-7 lead.
“Our starting line-up is really strong,” said Coach Evers. “But I think our bench is deep and strong as well. We hit some outside shots and ran our offense tonight. We didn’t come out sloppy at the start.”
McKoy began the second period with a lay-up, and Hardin buried another 3-point shot. A trio of steals by McKoy and two more by Moore-Peterson led to 3 straight lay-ups for Ward, and lay-ups for Moore-Peterson and McKoy.
A pair of McKoy free throws pushed the lead to 50-10 with 4:15 on the first half clock and started a continuous running clock. McDonald dropped in 2 more lay-ups – one of them off of a White assist – as the lead grew to 54-12 at halftime.
Ward topped the Lady Eagle scoring with 16 points. McKoy filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, 7 assists, 5 steals and 3 rebounds. Moore-Peterson added 12 points, 6 assists, 5 steals and 3 rebounds.
“I thought we ran the floor and passed the ball really well,” said Coach Evers. “Erica deserves a lot of credit for getting the ball to her teammates.”
McDonald tossed in 11 points. Hardin finished with 8 points, 5 steals and 2 assists. Mitchell followed with 4 points, 3 steals and 2 assists. Junior Lorna Mendell totaled 4 steals, White grabbed 3 rebounds, and sophmore Katie Evans collected 3 steals.
The Lady Eagles improve to 4-0 in league play and 7-0 overall. East Bladen will host West Columbus Wednesday night.
East Bladen 33 21 8 4 – 66
Fairmont 7 5 3 2 – 17
EAST BLADEN (66) – Katie Evans, Lily Lin, Erica McKoy 13, Lily Lin, Mya McDonald 11, Alexus Mitchell 4, Anna Kate White 2, Abbie Cross, Kabarah Moore, Patience Ward 16, Ashley Hardin 8, Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson 12, Lorna Mendell.
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