ELIZABETHTOWN – With many of her friends, family, coaches and administrators in attendance, East Bladen senior Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson celebrated her dream of continuing her basketball career Thursday by signing to play next season at UNC-Pembroke.
“I am really excited,” said Barbara Peterson, Ja’Tyra’s grandmother. “She wanted very much to play basketball after high school. I am glad Coach (Patty) Evers has helped make her dreams come true.”
“This is a special day for the East Bladen family and community,” said Coach Evers. “I remember her freshman year when she came into my office, and we talked about big goals and standards.”
But it didn’t come easy for Moore-Peterson who scored a lot of points in middle school. “Ja’Tyra made a lot of lay-ups in middle school, and her shot really needed work,” noted Evers. “She has come a long way and really worked with me and Coach Russell Priest on improving her shot. She put in hours and hours of work outside of practice on her own to make her shot better.”
All of the work paid off as Moore-Peterson averaged 9 points per game as a freshman on an East Bladen team that posted a 31-1 record. Moore-Peterson raised her average to 17.2 ppg in her sophmore year, and last year Ja’Tyra racked up 15.9 points, 6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3 steals per game.
In three seasons Moore-Peterson has scored 1,207 points on East Bladen teams that won 80 of their 89 games and claimed conference championships in 2016 and 2018.
But most of the conversation on Thursday was about Ja’Tyra the person. “I am very proud of her,” said East Bladen principal Dr. Jason Wray. “I have watched her grow and mature into the perfect student-athlete on and off the court.”
JROTC has been a big part of Moore-Peterson’s high school life. “Ja’Tyra sets a great example,” said Col. Kevin Brown. “She is an outstanding person with a good heart. She is a leader and wants to help her fellow students.”
“Ja’Tyra is a good person and a true teammate,” said Coach Evers. “And one fact that everyone may not know is that she has a very high Grade Point Average.”
“I like the UNCP community and Coach (John) Haskins,” said Moore-Peterson. “He seems like a good man. It will be close to home and that will make it easier. I will do what I need to do to succeed.”
Moore-Peterson will be following in the footsteps of some earlier East Bladen athletes -sisters JaToya (2007-2011) and Jasmine Kemp (2011-2015) – who were solid contributors to UNC-Pembroke’s women’s basketball program.
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