Contributed
WILMINGTON – Junior Patience Ward scored 8 of her team-high 15 points during a 16-9 fourth quarter surge that rallied East Bladen to a 45-42 victory over Wilmington New Hanover in the fifth-place game of the Leon Brogden Holiday Tournament.
Ward sank all 6 of her foul shots in the final period and added a basket. Senior Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson pumped in a basket and 3 free throws in the quarter, and senior Erica McKoy tossed in a basket and a free throw.
Moore-Peterson finished with 11 points for the winners, and senior Anna Kate White netted 7 points. McKoy and senior Ashley Hardin tallied 5 points each.
Freshman Andrehya Shuford threw in a pair of 3-point baskets and scored 9 points in the opening period as the Lady Wildcats raced to a 19-9 lead. Freshman I’dasia Murphy contributed a pair of 3-point baskets for New Hanover in the quarter.
Hardin buried a 3-point shot for East Bladen in the first quarter, and Hardin, Ward and Moore-Peterson made 2 free throws each in the period.
White and Moore-Peterson rallied the Lady Eagles with 2 baskets each in the second quarter. Ward popped in a basket and a free throw, and freshman Mya McDonald dropped in a basket as East Bladen pulled to within 24-22 at halftime.
White fired in a 3-point shot, and Ward and McKoy scored baskets to keep East Bladen within 33-29 at the third quarter break.
The Lady Eagles connected on 9 of 16 free throws in the final quarter and made 17 of 29 foul shots in the game. New Hanover made only 3 of 11 free throws in the final period and was 7 of 25 for the game.
Shuford led New Hanover with 19 points in the game. Teammate Montaisha Sutton followed with 8 points.
The victory gave the Lady Eagles 2 wins in their 3 games against the Wilmington 4A schools this weekend. “It wasn’t easy,” said East Bladen Coach Patty Evers. “We hit our free throws when we needed them today.”
East Bladen, now 10-1 overall, will host St. Pauls Wednesday in a key Three Rivers Conference game.
East Bladen (45) – Katie Evans, Erica McKoy 5, Mya McDonald 2, Alexus Mitchell, Anna Kate White 7, Abbie Cross, Patience Ward 15, Ashley Hardin 5, Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson 11, Lorna Mendell.
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