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By John Clark

TABOR CITY –Seniors Mallory Bryan and Kiera Lewis made key plays in the last 5 minutes as West Bladen rallied from a 27-22 deficit and claimed their 1st victory of the season 32-29 over South Columbus in non-conference girls’ basketball action Thursday night.

Junior Holland Davis sank 2 free throws to begin the 4th quarter and pull the Lady Knights to within 23-22. A follow shot by Jenaysha Jackson and Jakiyah Graham’s lay-up stretched the South lead to 27-22.

Davis dropped in another free throw, and Lewis stole the ball and raced for a lay-up to trim the margin to 27-25 at the 3:37 mark. Karys Townsend hit a free throw for South before Bryan buried a 3-point shot from the left corner to tie the game at 28 with 2:13 left.

Lady Knight sophomore Kali Allen stole the ball and sprinted for the basket. Her shot missed, but Lewis banked in the rebound for a 30-28 West lead with 1:39 remaining.

South missed 2 free throws with 30 seconds on the clock, before Bryan went to the line and drained both foul shots for a 32-28 Knight lead with 10 seconds on the clock.

Graham made 1 foul shot with 1.5 ticks left, but Davis grabbed the rebound of the 2nd shot to secure the win.

“It was a struggle,” said West Bladen Coach Brian McCleney. “Its’ been kind of rough this season. The girls had chances to quit tonight, but they didn’t. They showed the resolve to keep fighting. I am really proud of them.”

McCleney continued, “We only made 1 of 10 3-pointers in the 1st half, but we made two big 3’s for sure. We played hard when we needed too.”

Bryan topped all scorers with 13 points. Lewis finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Davis followed with 5 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Allen added 4 points and 3 steals.

Graham tallied a team-high 10 points for South, and Jackson followed with 8 points.

Trinity Strickland threw in a 3-pointer to spark the Lady Stallions to a 9-2 1st period lead. Davis cashed in 2 free throws for the only Lady Knight points.

The tables turned in the 2nd period as West Bladen rode an 8-0 run to a 10-9 halftime lead. Lewis drove for a lay-up, Allen hit a free throw and Bryan tossed in a basket. Allen nailed a 3-point shot from the right corner to vault the Lady Knights in front.

Graham’s 3-point bomb sparked South to a 7-0 run and a 16-10 lead in the 3rd period. Lewis drove for a lay-up, and Bryan swished a free throw to slice the lead to 16-13. A pair of Graham lay-ups widened the gap to 20-13.

Bryan drove for a pair of lay-ups and tacked on a free throw, and junior center Alina Chavez hooked in a turn-around to whittle the margin to 23-20 at the quarter break.

West Bladen, now 1-4, will travel to Whiteville Friday, Dec. 15. South Columbus dropped to 1-8 and will travel to East Bladen Thursday.

West Bladen 2 8 10 12 — 32
South Columbus 9 0 14 6 — 29

West Bladen (32) — Mallory Bryan 13, Natalee Sykes, Holland Davis 5, Kiera Lewis 8, Kali Allen 4, Alina Chavez 2.

South Columbus (29) — Jenaysha Jackson 8, Jordane Cribb 1, Jakiyah Graham 10, Trinity Strickland 3, Karys Townsend 3, Zyrainna Drayton, Riayja Lewis 2, Greenley Hardee 2, India Sammons.