By John Clark
WINSTON-SALEM — East Columbus’ inside duo of sophomore Malia Graham and senior Chynna Patrick combined for 47 points and 27 rebounds Monday to lead the Lady Gators to a 76-66 victory over East Bladen in the NCHSAA Class 1A Eastern Regional Girls Championship Game at Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum.
Malia Graham finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds, and Patrick posted a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds for East Columbus. Guard Malayah Hines added 17 points.
Coach Patty Evers’ Lady Eagles completed their season with a 25-5 record, a Waccamaw Conference Co-Championship, and Eastern 1A Runners-up finish. The Lady Gators improved to 26-1 and will play Cherokee Friday night for the Class 1A state championship.
“We had no answer for their bigs, and #1 (Hines) handled the ball well,” said East Bladen Coach Patty Evers. “Our girls played better in the 2nd half. They played hard but had fallen to far behind. We played in spurts.”
Laila Smith, a junior, lit up the scoreboard with 36 points -25 in the 2nd half – and collected 7 rebounds and 5 steals for East Bladen. Junior teammate Iveonna “NeNe” Ward rang up 19 points, 8 steals, 6 rebounds and handed out 4 assists. Sophomore Ariel Cromartie tallied 5 points and 3 rebounds. Sophomore Niyah Wooten snared 6 rebounds, and senior Zoe Smith and sophomore Cabria Baldwin grabbed 3 rebounds each.
The Lady Gators grabbed an early 6-0 lead, before Ward raced for a transition lay-up. Three points by Malia Graham upped the count to 9-2, before Laila Smith sank 2 free throws, sent an assist to Cromartie for a lay-up then banged in a lay-up off an in-bounds pass from Ward. Smith tacked on a free throw to complete the 3-point play then popped in a 15-footer to tie the game 11-11 at the quarter break.
Kaley Mitchell and Hines rattled in a pair of bank shots to ignite a 22-10 East Columbus surge in the 2nd quarter, and Malia Graham dropped in 8 points during the run.
Laila Smith scored twice inside and netted a free throw for the Lady Eagles. Ward buried a 3-pointer, and Wooten pumped in a 15-footer to trim the margin to 33-21 at halftime.
Zoe Smith banked in an 8-footer to begin the 2nd half, and Laila Smith powered in a short jumper, but Destiny Mitchell drained a 3-point shot for the Lady Gators, and Patrick muscled in a lay-up and a free throw to push the margin to 39-25.
Ward tossed in an 8-footer, and Laila Smith sank 2 free throws, but 8 points from Malia Graham stretched the East Columbus lead to 49-29. Ward then rallied the Lady Eagles with 4 consecutive steals that produced 3 lay-ups for Ward and another lay-up for Laila Smith. Laila Smith put back a rebound, but Graham threw in 2 more baskets to keep the Lady Gators up 53-39 at the quarter break.
Cromartie started the final period with a baseline runner. Laila Smith muscled in a follow, then stole the ball 3 times and dashed for lay-ups. Ward drove for a lay-up that closed the gap to 61-51. Hines banked in a 15-footer and threw in a short jumper, but Ward darted end-to-end for a lay-up that trimmed the lead to 65-53.
Laila Smith banked in a 4-footer, and Ward hurled in a runner. Laila Smith cashed in 2 free throws, and Cromartie made one, before Laila Smith turned a steal into a lay-up that narrowed the gap to 71-62 at the 1:23 mark.
Patrick scored on a follow, but Laila Smith drove for another lay-up that sliced the lead to 73-64. Hines turned a rebound into a 3-point play with 34 seconds left. Wooten’s rebound basket closed out the Lady Eagle scoring.
“Having 5 freshmen and 4 sophomores to start the season was tough,” noted Evers. “We have high standards here, but these two juniors – NeNe and Laila – latched onto the freshmen and sophomores and led them. We haven’t had any problems or any girls’ drama. This has been a great group.”
East Bladen 11 10 18 27 — 66
East Columbus 11 22 20 23 — 76
East Bladen (66) — Iveonna “NeNe” Ward 19, Aaliyah Monroe, Ariel Cromartie 5, Cabria Baldwin, Zoe Smith 2, Taylor Dowless, Laila Smith 36, Niyah Wooten 4.
East Columbus (76) — Malayah Hines 17, Rylie Graham, Malia Graham 29, Chynna Patrick 18, Kaley Mitchell 6, Destiny Mitchell 5, Shamiah Johnson 1.
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