TABOR CITY – Senior Rylee Chadwick fired in 7 of her game-high 19 points during an opening 11-3 run that sparked West Bladen’s Lady Knights to a 48-29 non-conference girls’ basketball victory over South Columbus Wednesday night.
Chadwick flipped in 3 baskets and a free throw, and sophomore Holland Davis netted a basket as the Lady Knights raced to an early 9-3 lead. Sophomore Alina Chavez sank 2 free throws, and junior Megan Pait nailed a 3-point shot to pad the West lead to 14-5 at the quarter break.
Senior Lainey Autry delivered an assist to Davis who made a lay-up to start the 2nd period then hit a free throw. Senior Kirsten Warrick bombed in a 3-point shot that stretched the lead to 20-8. South closed to within 20-13, but Chadwick banked in a 6-footer then sent a pair of assists to Autry who made the 2 lay-ups for a 26-13 halftime lead.
Junior Kiera Lewis hit a free throw to begin the 2nd half. Chadwick and Pait sank 2 free throws each, before Pait buried a 3-point shot that pushed the lead to 34-18. Another Chadwick free throw kept West up 35-23 at the break.
Autry turned 2 more Chadwick assists into lay-ups to start the final quarter. Chadwick popped in a 12-footer then stole the ball twice and sprinted for lay-ups. A trio of Chadwick free throws and 1 by Davis closed out the West Bladen scoring.
Autry followed Chadwick on the West scoring list with 9 points. Pait racked up 8 points, and Davis finished with 6. Kyleigh Reaves and Bethany Lupo shared South scoring honors with 6 points each.
“With the style that we play, playing back-to-back nights is tough,” said West Bladen Coach Brian McCleney. “Mental errors because of the fatigue led to physical errors. We also had an injury early that got us out of our normal rotation.” Guard Mallory Bryan suffered a leg injury in the first period.
“For some reason – I don’t know what it is, but it is always tough for us down here. They play us tough,” noted McCleney.
The Lady Knights improved to 2-1 with the win and will host West Columbus Friday night.
West Bladen 14 12 9 13 – 48
South Columbus 5 8 10 6 – 29
WEST BLADEN (48) – Lainey Autry 9, Megan Pait 8, Mallory Bryan. Holland Davis 6, Faith Wren, Rylee Chadwick 19, Kirsten Warrick 3, Brookee Singletary, Kiera Lewis 1, Kali Allen, Alina Chavez 2.
SOUTH COLUMBUS (29) – Kyleigh Reaves 6, Jordane Cribb, Jakiyah Graham 3, Trinity Strickland 2, Bella Coleman 4, Jenaysha Jackson 4, Denisha Scott, Bethany Lupo 6, Zyeainna Drayton 4, Candence Sasser.
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