ST PAULS – Jashontae Harris drained a pair of 3-point shots to ignite a 19-5 St. Pauls run that propelled the Lady Bulldogs to a 59-48 girls basketball victory over East Bladen Friday night in their Southeastern Athletic Conference showdown.
East Bladen trailed 26-17 at halftime but opened the 2nd half with a 10-1 run. Senior Alexus Mitchell sank 2 foul shots after St. Pauls was charged with a technical foul after the half had ended.
“That was really tough having to sit through halftime then making both free throws to start the half,” said East Coach Patty Evers. “That was really big for us to start the half.”
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
Junior AnnaGrey Heustess buried a 3-point shot then sent a pass to junior Maegan Burney for a lay-up that whittled the margin to 27-24. Mitchell flipped in a runner then completed the 3-point play to knot the score 27-27 with 5:27 left in the quarter.
Harris bombed in a 3-point shot, and teammate Jakieya Thompson drove for a lay-up and a 32-27 St. Pauls lead. Mitchell delivered an assist on an in-bounds pass that senior Maya McDonald turned into a lay-up that trimmed the deficit to 32-29.
Another Harris 3-ball and a Thompson lay-up off of a turnover pushed the lead to 37-29, before freshman Laila Smith dropped in a lay-up off of a Heustess assist to close the gap to 37-31. St. Pauls padded the lead to 46-32 at the quarter break.
“The 3-balls put them ahead,” said Evers. “But our girls didn’t let up. They fought to the end. I am proud of them.”
The lead grew to 50-34, but the Lady Eagles drove through the St. Pauls defense on 4 consecutive possessions for lay-ups. Freshman Iveonna “NeNe” Ward dropped in the first one then capped the spurt with an assist to Mitchell for a lay-up. McDonald also drove for a pair of lay-ups that shrunk the lead to 50-42.
Heustess and Burney nailed 3-point shots in the closing minutes but St. Pauls held on for the win.
McDonald posted a double-double and led East Bladen with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Mitchell followed with 11 points and 4 rebounds. Burney netted 8 points, and Heustess totaled 7 points and 6 rebounds. Ward grabbed 4 rebounds, and Laila Smith added 5 points.
“Alexus drew 3 charges on defense,” continued Evers. “AnnaGrey and Maegan held their own against their big girls. The Smiths – Laila and Zoe – came in and both gave us a big lift. NeNe played with more confidence tonight, and Maya was just being Maya.”
Thompson led all scorers with 19 points for St. Pauls, and Harris and Tamyra Council scored 11 points each.
The Lady Eagles started slowly as St. Pauls built an early 14-3 lead and led 14-5 at the quarter break. Laila Smith cashed in a trio of 1st period free throws, and Mitchell tossed in 2 in the opening quarter then began the 2nd period with 2 more.
McDonald drove for a lay-up to pull East within 14-9. Mitchell tossed in a follow shot, and Burney fired in a corner 3-ball to keep the Lady Eagles within 24-15. A Burney assist resulted in another McDonald lay-up that kept East within 26-17 at halftime.
“The sky is the limit for this team,” said Evers about her Eagles. “If they continue to work on defense and shoot better. They will have to put in the extra work to shoot better.”
East Bladen, now 2-1 in SAC-7 play and 13-1 overall, will host Midway Tuesday night.
East Bladen 5 12 15 16 – 48
St Pauls 14 12 20 13 – 59
EAST BLADEN (48) – Iveonna Ward 4, Maya McDonald 13, Alexus Mitchell 11, AnnaGrey Heustess 7, Karli Priest, Zoe Smith, Maegan Burney 8, Laila Smith 5.
ST. PAULS (59) – Taliya Council 9, Au.Nyah Teague 9, Tamyra Council 11, Jakieya Thompson 19, Jashontae Harris 11, Aniyah Easterling.
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