LAKE WACCAMAW – Juniors Rylee Chadwick and Makayla Wright returned to the West Bladen line-up Friday night, and the Lady Knights responded with a 38-29 non-conference girls basketball victory over East Columbus.
Chadwick made a big splash with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Wright keyed the defensive effort with 7 steals and 6 rebounds. They had both been sidelined by contact tracing protocols since the 1st game of the year.
“It was good to see Rylee and Makayla back,” said West Bladen Coach Brian McCleney. “They contribute a lot more things than just points with their leadership and their presence on the court.”
McCleney continued, “This was a big turnaround from the first time we played them and lost by 22 points. But that was our first game with 6 players out and we were a little shell-shocked. Their number 1 (Maleya Hines) hit six 3-pointers in that game.” Hines was limited to only 6 points Friday night and made no 3-pointers.
Both offenses started slow as sophomore Brookee Singletary spun to the basket for a lay-up and a 2-1 Lady Knight lead at the quarter break.
Chadwick pulled up for a 10-footer to begin the 2nd period, drove for a lay-up and a 3-point play then stole the ball and sprinted for another lay-up and a 9-3 lead.
Wright delivered a pass to Lainey Autry for a lay-up, Chadwick turned a rebound into a 3-point play, and Wright stole the ball and dashed end-to-end for a lay-up to grow the lead to 16-3.
Senior Olivia McCarty powered in a follow shot, sophomore Megan Pait and Chadwick cashed in free throws, and freshman Holland Davis turned an assist from freshman Alina Chavez into a lay-up. Another Chadwick lay-up pushed the lead to 24-8 at halftime.
A Singletary rebound bucket padded the lead to 26-8, before an 8-0 Lady Gator spurt closed the gap to 26-16. However Autry buried a 3-ball from the left corner to keep West up 30-18 at the quarter break.
“That was a big 3-ball from Lainey,” noted McCleney. “It is good to have her back and healthy. She really hustled and made some big plays for us.”
Chadwick nailed a 16-footer then banked in a runner to keep the margin at 34-22. Another Chadwick rebound basket made it 36-25 midway the quarter, and she sealed the verdict with another follow shot with 26 seconds left.
Autry finished with 5 points and 4 steals for the winners. Singletary grabbed 7 rebounds and added 4 points and 2 steals.
The Lady Knights improved to 5-2 with the win and will host Union Monday at 6 p.m.
West Bladen 2 22 6 8 – 38
East Columbus 1 7 10 10 – 29
West Bladen (38) –Lainey Autry 5, Megan Pait 1, Holland Davis 2, Makayla Wright 2, Azillyah McDonald, Rylee Chadwick 22, Brookee Singletary 4, Kiera Lewis, Alina Chavez, Olivia McCarty 2.
East Columbus (29) – Malaya Hines 6, Alaina Spaulding 4, Destiny Mitchell 3, Harmony Somerville 5, Kaley Mitchell 5, I’naya Carr-Graham, Bailey Padgett 2, Chynna Patrick, Shanniah Johnson 4.
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